High School Sucks
by CloveEngland
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia has been sent off alone by her father to attend public school at Fairy Tail High in a new city! And as if living on her own isn't enough, the high school is exactly what you'd expect- stereotypical, from the bimbos to the bullies. Follow Lucy through her high school years as the target of the school's worst bully and the love interest of the hottest guy there! NaLu!
1. New City, New Life

I stared out of the train window in silence, watching as the rain pelted it. Or maybe the rain was light, and the train was just moving quickly. I don't know. In any case, it seemed to be coming down quickly. It reflected my mood. I was on a train headed straight to the city of Magnolia. I was alone, with nothing but myself, a purse with just enough money to rent an apartment and get some groceries and a small suitcase packed to the brim with clothing and a few personal items.

See, I didn't have much time to prepare for this trip. I didn't come here by choice. No, I was kicked out of my home by my lovely father, who was kind enough to provide me with a ticket for this train and four years' worth of tuition money for my high school years at Fairy Tail High.

It was two weeks precisely until the start of school, and honestly I couldn't be more nervous. I was never a social butterfly at any of my previous schools, but then again, I'd never been to a public school before. All of the girls at the all-girl private schools I'd gone to before were stuck up snobs who cared only about themselves and their money. They weren't worth making friends with.

The train came to a stop and I took a deep breath, grabbing the handle of my suitcase and rolling it off of the train and out into the rain. Indeed, it was the rain that was pelting down. With a sigh, I held up the soggy note my father had left me explaining to me what to do when I arrived here. It said exactly the apartment I should go to. Unfortunately, I had no idea where the address was.

I decided to hope for the best and started walking through the rain, suddenly wishing I'd brought an umbrella with me. I was soaked in no time and I was sure that I'd get a cold from this weather. And of course, it began thundering as I walked along.

Magnolia was huge, a lot bigger than I'd expected, and I knew soon that I was lost. The storm got worse and worse, and it wasn't long before I was chilled to the bone and shaking as I walked. No one else was crazy enough to be out in this weather. No one but me, anyhow… and wait, there was someone up ahead? I squinted and saw a woman with red hair walking toward me, a large umbrella held above her head.

She walked up to me with a confused look on her face and said, "What on earth are you doing out in this weather without an umbrella, or even a jacket?" She had a point. All I was wearing was a white tank top and a gray and black skirt. I had knee-high black boots on and my hair was tied with a gray bow in a side ponytail, which had wilted from the rain.

"I-I don't know," I stuttered, my teeth chattering as I tried to speak. "I just g-got here a-and I don't k-know where I'm g-going. M-my name's L-Lucy; Lucy Heart-Heartfilia." I extended a shaking hand to her and she shook it, never breaking eye contact with me, which kind of made me want to shrink back away from her burning gaze.

"Erza Scarlet," she said, and then proceeded to remove her scarf and wrap it around my neck. "That's not much but it'll at least help. Now, tell me where you're trying to get and I'll help you."

I stared at her in surprise. Why was she being so nice? I was a stranger, after all. She didn't have to help me. "A-an apartment complex," I stated, and handed her the paper with the address. She looked at it and her eyes widened in shock. She looked up at me, with a look that made me feel insane. Then again, I probably seemed pretty insane.

"Good heavens," she said, "that's on the other side of the city! Come with me, I'm not letting you walk all the way there in this storm." She turned and began walking away. Knowing that I'd be on my own if I didn't follow her, I hurried and walked along behind her.

Soon, we came upon a nice, little house, and she went inside, holding the door open for me. I went as far as I could without dripping water on the wooden floors, and she came in behind me, closing the umbrella and hanging it as well as her coat on a rack. I must have really been shivering, because she didn't try to take the scarf she'd lent me.

She looked at me sympathetically and said, "You can take off your shoes here and I'll get you something dry to change into. Your clothes in that suitcase are probably a bit damp. Don't worry about tracking in mud or water. I'm not a clean freak or anything and I live alone." Erza then turned and headed up a staircase, leaving me dripping wet by the door.

I heard the wind howl outside and was suddenly very grateful that she'd found me, especially since I'd been going in the wrong direction the whole time. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs a few minutes later and looked up to see her walking down with some neatly folded clothes in one hand and a towel in the other.

She handed me the towel and directed me to the bathroom, claiming she'd put my suitcase in the guest room and make tea while I was drying off.

I changed into the dry outfit; a pair of pink sweatpants and a white sweater, and hung my wet ones on a drying rack. I also dried my hair off and took the soaked ribbon out of it, tying it around my wrist for later use. I hung up the towel and walked out of the bathroom, smelling the sweet scent of vanilla and smiling as I was reminded of my mother.

The bathroom was conveniently right next to the living room and the kitchen. Erza was in the kitchen preparing the tea. She grinned at me as I walked out and said, "You can take a seat on the couch. Make yourself at home, Lucy. It's not often I have guests, so this is a treat to me as much as it is to you."

I merely nodded and walked over to the couch, sitting down and reveling in the comfort of it. After the cold, wooden seats on the train, this was a nice luxury.

Erza came over shortly with two cups of tea and set them down on the coffee table in front of the couch, then proceeding to sit next to me. I looked at her and said in a soft voice, "Thank you kindly for your hospitality, miss. You really were too kind to bring me here."

The redhead laughed and I was taken aback. She put a hand over her mouth and said, "I'm sorry for laughing, but you don't need to be so formal. This is my pleasure. So, Lucy, what brings you to Magnolia?"

I sighed, picking up a cup of tea and staring at the pale yellow liquid; it was honey vanilla, which explained the strong smell of vanilla from before. "I, uh, was sent here by my father because he thinks I need to learn to take care of myself. He wants me to live my high school years in Magnolia, going to Fairy Tail High."

What I said was not entirely true, though I felt no need to burden her with my problems. The real reason my father sent me away was because he didn't want to put up with me anymore. Although I came from a rich family, I hardly had enough money to scrape by this first month, and I knew I'd have to get a part-time job in order to pay rent and put food on my plate.

She sipped her tea and said, "So you'll be attending Fairy Tail High? That's great; perhaps we'll see each other there. I'm going to be a freshman this year."

I was shocked, to say the least. "You're going to be a _freshman?" _I asked in surprise, "So you're only fifteen? You seem so much…"

"Older?" she finished for me, "Or perhaps more mature. I get that a lot. I was forced to grow up before my time. Though I wouldn't act so surprised, Miss Heartfilia; you also seem very mature. If I'm not mistaken, you probably had to grow up too soon as well. We're very much alike, I believe."

For a little bit after she said that, we both sipped our tea in silence, then she said, "So you'll be staying in a 70,000J apartment, correct?" I nodded and she shook her head. "People these days… we're only kids." She sighed and then said, "I'm assuming you'll be getting a part-time job then."

I nodded and said, "If they're not too strict about bartenders being a specific age, I'll probably do that. Either that or I'll get a job waitressing."

"Not a bad decision," she said, "I know a place that'll hire teenagers as bartenders, if you'd like me to show you sometime." I smiled at her and nodded gratefully.

We made small talk for a little while, just having little conversations about simple things like school and jobs and the more we spoke, the more we slowly learned more about each other. After a while, I could feel the effects of the tea setting in, and fatigue rushed over me.

"You look exhausted," she commented, tilting her head to one side. "Long trip?" she murmured and I nodded. She let out a sigh and said, "Well, then, I'll show you to your room." The redhead stood up and took my hand, pulling me up and leading me up the stairs.

When we got to the guest room, I was surprised to see that she'd already placed my suitcase there and that the clothes that had been on the top of my suitcase were hanging up to dry. "Thank you so much Erza," I said, "really. Even though you say it's nothing and that it really is your pleasure, it means the world to me, and I can't help but be grateful."

She ruffled my hair and said, "It's no problem at all. If you need anything, just call." With that, she left the room. I closed the door and headed straight for the bed, knowing that as soon as my head hit the pillow I'd fall asleep. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened.

When I awoke again, sunlight was streaming in through the window. I saw a little slip of paper at the foot of the bed, and for a moment I was extremely confused as to where I was. But then I saw my suitcase and the drying clothes and remembered. Sliding out of bed, I picked up the note and read it.

_I've gone out to get some groceries. I should be back shortly. You can use the bathroom if you'd like to take a shower or whatever else you may need to do. Hopefully your clothes are dry by now but if you need anything there should be some clothes in the closet across from your bed._

A smile graced my lips and I set the piece of paper back down, heading over to my suitcase to grab an outfit to change into. After I'd done that, I left the room to take a shower. Mavis knows I needed one.

As I stood in the shower, relishing in the feel of the hot water on my back, I recalled my father's actions. He had called me into his office, and I don't know why, but I got excited. It was as though I actually expected something good to happen. Father never called me into his office, ever. I thought maybe he actually wanted something to do with me.

I walked in in high spirits, politely greeting him. He turned to me with a look of conflicting emotions. He looked angry, confused, remorseful, but also a little relieved. He masked it with a poker face. "Lucy dear," he said, "I've arranged for you to move… just you. Don't worry; I have everything planned out for you. I've written a letter and a maid is placing it in your room; it will explain where to go and what to do. You will attend a public school called Fairy Tail High. I just can't keep spending our money on you to go to fancy private schools."

"So what you're saying is you don't want me," I said simply, "because I suck up all of your precious money. Your money is more important to you than your own daughter?" There was silence. He couldn't look at me, and honestly, it sickened me to look at him.

Without a word, I turned and stormed off to my room. If he wanted me gone, fine; I didn't want to stay in this place anyway.

I sighed, coming out of my memories and finishing up with my shower. I dried off and changed, then hung the towel up and left the bathroom. Erza was sitting on the couch, something playing quietly on the TV. She looked at me as I walked out and smiled. "Good, you're done," she said, "I was going to make breakfast but decided to wait in case there was anything particular you wanted."

I walked over and sat down next to her before saying, "No, not really. I'm not really that hungry right now, so whatever you want to make is fine." She gave me a small nod before standing up and heading to the kitchen to make something for breakfast. I sat back and looked at the TV, which was playing a rerun of _Chopped _on Food Network.

I watched it while Erza made pancakes. After one episode, I heard her say that the pancakes were ready. I walked over and saw that she'd made at least thirty pancakes. I stared in shock and she said, "I have quite the appetite, so don't look so surprised. You can eat as few or as many as you'd like."

Being the _normal human being _I was, I only ate two pancakes, and she ate the other twenty-seven or so pancakes. It made me wonder how she stayed so skinny. I decided it better to just not ask.

I helped her clean up the dishes and when we were done doing that she said, "So, when would you like to go to your apartment? We can go as soon or as late as you'd like."

"Now would be fine, actually," I said, "it was nice being here but I don't want to mooch off of you. Besides, I'll need to get used to living on my own as soon as possible, since I will be for the next four years." Erza nodded in understanding and offered to help me pack my things, but I shook my head, feeling that she'd already done enough for me.

I went up to the guest room and put my now-dry clothes back into my suitcase, grabbing my shoulder bag and hauling the suitcase down the stairs into the front foyer area. I put on my shoes and we walked outside. Erza looked at me and said, "We can wave down a taxi. That'll be easier than walking all the way there."

We headed down the street for a while before seeing an empty yellow taxi round a corner. Erza waved her hand in the air at the driver, who pulled over and rolled down the windows. "You ladies need a lift somewhere?"

Erza nodded and said, "We need to get to the apartment complexes on the other side of town." The driver, who had blue hair and a blue mustache, eyed her curiously, and then seemed to notice me and the suitcase I had. I assumed he'd looked confused because he knew Erza.

"Alright, you know the drill," he said, smirking at Erza. Erza rolled her eyes and fished in her purse for money, pulling out a decent amount and handing it to the driver. "Thank you kindly," the driver said, still smirking.

"Cut the creepy crap, Macao," Erza said, grinning a little, "and wipe that smirk off your face." Macao just grinned and motioned to the backseat. We got in the taxi and drove in silence to the apartment buildings. He stopped in what appeared to be the center and dropped us off.

Erza led me to mine and said, "Here's your address. The bar I was telling you about is right across the bridge from here." She pointed to a bridge crossing a river in the middle of the area. "It's called Vermillion's Bar and Grill. Just head there and look for Laxus Dreyar. He currently owns the place. Fairy Tail High is farther down the road and then down an alley to the left. The alley is next to a little coffee shop. You can't miss it."

"Thank you so much, Erza." I said, intending to just thank her, but then looking at the redhead and thinking of all she'd done for me, I flung myself into her arms and hugged her tightly. "I wish I could repay you."

She had tensed up; seeming surprised at my actions, but then relaxed and hugged me too. "You already have," she said softly, "by being my friend. Hopefully we can hang out before school starts. I can tell you a little bit about the students; Magnolia may be a decent sized city, but there aren't many schools, so I know just about everyone in Fairy Tail High even though I'm only a freshman myself."

"That'd be awesome," I agreed, giving her one last squeeze before letting her go. "Thanks again!" I said, before heading to the front office in the apartment building I'd be in. It was quick and easy to sort things out with my landlady, who seemed to like me instantly. As long as I paid my 70,000J each month, we'd have no problems.

She gave me the keys to my apartment and I immediately went to it, surprised to find it nicely furnished already. It was _really nice _furniture at that, not even the crappy stuff you'd expect to find. Smiling, I rolled my suitcase into the bedroom and set it down, sitting on the bed which was soft and comfy.

Even though I hated my father, I could always count on him to find the nicest place possible at a low price. Sighing, I left my suitcase and grabbed my keys, deciding to head out and try to get a job at that bar Erza suggested. The sooner I could start working and make money, the better. As I left my apartment and began heading to the bar, I reflected on what Erza had said about us having to grow up before our time.

And as I walked, going to get a job that would be my only source of income for four years, I wondered with a pang of sadness how it was fair for young teenagers like us to have to making a living on our own.

**A/N And here's chapter one! I'm excited about this fanfic, mainly because I've been wanting to write NaLu fics forever and adore high school fics but could never quite think of a good plot. This will be more slow-moving than my other fanfics, not in update time but in –story time-. I really want to drag out the exposition and be detailed about it.**

** So hopefully you all can bear with me and enjoy the story! I'm already writing chapter two, I'm just so excited! Please review, follow, and favorite, because that's like my fuel. The more you review and the more favorites/follows I get, the faster I write!**

** Until next time!**


	2. Natsu Dragneel

I arrived at Vermillion's Bar and Grill and looked around. It was mostly empty; a couple sat at a table and there was a man sitting at the bar with an untouched beer in front of him, staring at the television which was playing a football game. I suddenly wished that Erza had told me what this Laxus guy looked like. How was I supposed to find the guy if I didn't even know what to look for? As I looked around again, I spotted a girl behind the bar, wiping it off with a rag and humming to herself.

I walked over to her, assuming that she would have some idea where Laxus was. She looked up and smiled. "Hi, do you need something?"

"Um, yeah, I'm actually looking to get a job. Erza Scarlet told me to look for Laxus Dreyar?"

She smiled brightly and I couldn't help but smile back; her smile was absolutely contagious. "That won't be necessary; I can get you an application right now. We've really been needing workers, right now I'm the only one and we could use another waitress and barmaid. I'm the co-owner and your soon-to-be co-worker, Mirajane Strauss." She stuck out her pale hand and I shook it, surprised at how delicate it was. I felt like I had to be gentle or I'd break her hand.

"Lucy Heartfilia," I said before letting go. "It's nice to meet you, Mirajane."

She giggled and said, "Please, call me Mira. It's nice to meet you too Lucy! Now let me just get you an application." She fished around behind the bar for a moment before pulling out a sheet of paper and a pen and pushing them over to me. I sat down on a barstool and began filling everything out; just simple things like my name, age, gender, etc. When I finished, I handed the paper to Mira, who skimmed through it before nodding and placing it on the counter behind her.

"I'll have Laxus take a look if he comes in. I doubt he'll have a problem with it. So, when would you like to start working?"

"As soon as I can," I said simply.

"Alright, how about 6-9 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and 5-10 on Saturdays; I assure you the hours aren't as bad as they sound, we don't get many people and I basically live here so you won't ever be working alone."

"That's perfect," I said, "so I get Fridays and Sundays off?" She nodded, smiling brightly, and I continued, "Great, so when should I start?"

"Wednesday this week?" she suggested and I nodded, shaking her hand again. She told me how much I'd be getting paid I was shocked; they were offering 5,000J an hour, so I'd be making 5,000J more than my monthly rent expenses each week, which would give me plenty of money for food and other things. After that, I left to get buy some groceries and really move into my apartment.

I went into a little supermarket and got a few necessary things, like a carton of milk and a carton of water. I also got a loaf of bread and different things to make sandwiches. I also got frozen dinners that I could make in the microwave. Eventually, I filled up a small cart with food and began to look at other things. I got a few candles as well as a pack of envelopes and paper so that I could write letters to my mom.

I was going to pay when I bumped into someone and nearly fell over. I was about to topple to the ground when a strong arm wrapped around my torso and helped me balance. I looked up in shock and saw a boy about the same age as me looking at me concernedly. He had sparkling onyx eyes and, dare I say, spiky, _pink_ hair. Despite that, he took my breath away.

"Are you alright? Sorry I bumped into you; I should really watch where I'm going. I was fighting with Ice Princess over here—,"

"Who ya callin' Ice Princess, Flame Brain?!" a voice shouted from behind me, and I turned around to see a shirtless boy with dark, spiky hair about ready to beat up the boy who'd stopped me from falling.

"You, Squinty Eyes!" the boy snapped back, then looked back at me, ignoring the insults that the other boy continued to throw his way. "Well? You okay? At least say something! Don't tell me I made you mute!"

"Look at what you've done," the boy with dark hair said, "you made her lose her voice! Poor girl didn't do anything to you Dragon Breath! Why would you go and make the poor girl go mute? What if she never talks again?"

"I'm fine," I said, interrupting their argument, which had gone from pointless name calling to this stupid idea that almost knocking someone over could make them go mute, "thanks for catching me." I added as I looked at the boy with pink hair. He gave me a big, toothy grin.

"Hey, no problem; what's your name, by the way? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia." I responded.

He nodded and said, "Oh. I'm Natsu, Natsu Dragneel. And that stripper over there is Gray Fullbuster. It's nice to meet you Luigi."

I glared at him and said, "Luigi? My name isn't Luigi! It's Lucy!" He seemed unfazed by the angry look on my face and instead started laughing. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it when I realized that I had nothing to say.

"How about I call ya Luce then? You don't mind nicknames do ya?" I shook my head in answer to his question and he smiled. "Well good. Hey, you and I should hang out sometime! You know you're really pretty, and you seem really cool!"

I flinched. I didn't mean to, but I just couldn't help it. "Thanks, and I'd love to hang out. But I'm not pretty. Now if you'll excuse me, I should go pay."

"At least give me your phone number—and you are pretty y'know."

Shaking my head, I wrote down my phone number and handed it to him. He said that he'd text me his name and then I could put the number into my phone. "I'm really not pretty," I added before turning and pushing my cart over to the checkout. I could feel him staring at me like I was crazy, but I didn't care. Nobody could convince me that I was beautiful. Not after what he said about me, and what I knew to be true.

_"Tch. No dress or accessory in the world could make you pretty, but I guess we can try to make you half as beautiful as Layla was." _

I winced as I remembered my father's words. I had tried to tell myself that he didn't mean it, that it was just because it was hard to look at me and think of mom. But that was two whole years after my mom had died. He must've meant it.

Sighing, I paid for all of my groceries, using up almost all of the money I had. Taking the bags, I left the store, blushing as I thought of Natsu. I didn't believe in love at first sight, but for some reason my heart couldn't stop racing and I couldn't get the stupid smile off of my face. I went into my apartment and put things respectively in the refrigerator, cupboards, and freezer. I then made myself a ham and cheese sandwich and ate that for dinner.

When I was done, I checked my phone and saw that I had a text message from Erza.

[MissScarlet] _Hey Lucy, wanna hang out tomorrow? You can come over to my place or we can go somewhere else._

I quickly texted a response back to her.

[LucyHeartfilia] _Yeah, that'd be great! You can come over here if you want._

[MissScarlet] _Okay, if you wouldn't mind that._

[LucyHeartfilia] _Of course not! See you tomorrow then?_

[MissScarlet] _Yeah, I'll be there around noon._

Sighing, I locked my phone and went over to my desk, pulling out a piece of lined paper, a pencil, and an envelope. I turned on the desk lamp and thought of what to write. So much had happened recently that I didn't think I even knew where to start. After a few moments of thinking about what to write, I placed my pencil on the paper and began writing away.

_Dear Mom,_

_ Today was my second day in Magnolia—well; it was my first real day in Magnolia anyways. See, dad kicked me out of the house because he didn't want to spend his wonderful money on me. Mavis forbid! So anyways, I got my apartment and met some really… interesting people. Yesterday I met Erza, who is one of the nicest people I know. I think we have potential to be great friends._

_ She lives on her own too. Interesting, huh? I thought that most kids at this age would still be living with their parents, but she's providing for herself too. I guess that was just a stroke of irony that I ran into. I stayed at her place because I got lost in a storm trying to find my apartment. Dad's instructions were pretty vague. I think you'd like her house a lot. It's modest, but really nice on the inside._

_ I also met Mirajane Strauss, but she prefers to just be called Mira. I met her while applying for a job, and she's too nice! She seems really delicate, like a flower almost, but I bet she's tough on the inside. Most people who come off that fragile have bulletproof hearts and titanium souls, as sad as it seems. I guess I'll find out eventually, since I'm going to be working with her all the time._

_ After I met Mira, I was buying groceries and I ran into a boy—literally ran into him. He had PINK hair! It was really pink! How crazy is that? And the thing is it looked totally natural! The other thing is, despite his hair being pink, he was drop dead gorgeous! I'm not a big believer in love at first sight, but man was he cute, and funny, and sweet… _

_ His name was Natsu Dragneel, and his friend's name was Gray Fullbuster. Gray didn't have crazy-colored hair or anything like that but I guess since his name is a color that makes up for it. Unless you consider gray to be a shade, that is, then I guess he wins. Apparently he has a stripping problem too; Natsu called him stripper and he was walking around the supermarket shirtless. At least he had decent abs._

_ To be honest though, I'm just waiting for someone to stab me in the back, or at least to meet someone mean. Everyone I've met so far seems to be nice, but misfortune follows me everywhere I turn. Just because I moved to a new city doesn't mean that air of bad luck will just disappear. I mean, do you know how many times I had to transfer because of bullies in middle school? Like eight. No wonder dad wanted to get rid of me; I bet it was tough finding good private schools for me to go to and then shelling out buckets of tuition money every time I transferred._

_ Well, hopefully things keep going smoothly. _

_ -Lucy_

I put down my pencil with a sigh and realized that it was getting pretty late. I folded the paper neatly and slid it into an envelope, sealing it shut and putting it in the drawer on the desk. Then, I stood up, turned off the lamp, and changed into my pajamas. Crawling into bed, I smiled to myself as I drifted off into the land of sleep.

I awoke to the sound of snoring behind me. '_Weird,_' I thought before trying to stand up. A hand tightened around my waist and pulled me back. Wait, _what? _I slowly turned my head and saw the tips of spiky pink hair. My eyes widened in shock and I jumped out of bed yelling, "NATSU? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY APARTMENT?"

He squinted at me groggily and slid out of bed on the other side. "Mm, I dunno," he muttered, scratching his head as though he was really confused. "I mean, since I talked to you yesterday 'n all, I assumed we were friends. I saw you come in here and thought I'd check out your place. The door was locked though so I had to come in through the window. Then I saw you sleeping and thought your bed looked pretty comfy and then this happened."

I glared at him and said, "That's no excuse to break into my apartment! And we barely talked! You already consider us friends?!" He shrugged and nodded and I face-palmed. "Natsu, that's not how it works. You don't just become friends with someone the minute you meet them and then have the right to break into their home."

He frowned and said, "Funny, I was pretty sure it worked like that. Well, sorry Luce, but your bed is really comfy, and you're warm and nice to snuggle with!" I groaned and said pointed at the window. He followed my winger and looked at the window in confusion.

"Mavis, you are so dense! Get out of my apartment idiot!"

He grinned and said, "Alright! See ya later Luce!" With that he jumped out of my window, and I shut it immediately. Rolling my eyes I headed off to take a shower, suddenly glad that he hadn't entered my apartment while I was showering. Knowing him, he would've just broken right into the bathroom.

I took a generally quick shower and then got ready for the day by drying my hair, brushing it and putting it up into its normal side-ponytail, throwing on my bathrobe and then heading out to the small kitchen to make eggs and toast. It was nine in the morning, meaning I had plenty of time before Erza would be coming to do whatever I pleased.

I finished making breakfast and got a plate, putting the two sunny-side-up eggs on it and taking the piece of toast out of the toaster. I then proceeded to dip my toast in the yolk of the egg. Some people found it odd, but it was just something I'd always done since I was a kid. My mom always did it, so I always did it, and eventually it became a habit.

I finished eating and cleaned my plate in the sink. I then dried it off and put it away. When I finished that I went to my suitcase, which I had yet to unpack. I carefully sorted my clothes into piles and put them into drawers, then hung up my dresses and jackets in the closet and also put my different pairs of shoes in there. I took my doll, Michelle, out of the suitcase and set it carefully on the bed, which I made neatly, being a total perfectionist.

Once I finished unpacking, I stored my suitcase in the back of my closet and went to change out of my bathrobe into an actual outfit. I changed into a purple strapless top with a lavender bow at the top where my cleavage was, for lack of better explanation, and a lavender skirt. I tied my side pony with a purple ribbon and hung up my robe. Since I wasn't going out, I decided not to put any shoes on for the time being.

I walked out to the kitchen and noticed that it was about ten, which meant that Erza would be coming in two hours. I flopped down on my couch with a book and got to reading it. Before I knew it, there was a knock at the door.

I closed my book and set it on the coffee table, then went over to open the door, revealing Erza. "It's noon already?" I asked in surprise, and she nodded, laughing a little.

A grin slid across my face and I said, "Well, come in then. I started reading at ten and I guess I just lost track of time." She nodded and came in, taking off her boots by the door.

"Would you like tea or anything?" I asked her, and she just shook her head. We both walked over to the couch and sat down.

"This is a cute apartment," she commented, "and it's decently sized too. Have you gotten a job yet?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I talked to Mirajane yesterday and we decided my hours and how much I'd be getting paid. I'm glad I was able to help them out, they seemed pretty desperate for workers."

"Yeah, Laxus and Mira are friends of mine, and that place they run isn't bad. Business has been slow for a while, sadly." She commented. "So, do you want me to tell you a bit about Fairy Tail High?" the subject change took me off guard and I looked at her curiously as she continued, "I may be more mature than most but I still enjoy to gossip a little. I could tell you about the people there."

"Sure," I said, "I'm going to have to be told at some point anyways!"

She grinned and said, "Alright! Well, most of the kids think I'm scary, to start. And I guess I can be when I or my friends are threatened. So as long as you stick with me you shouldn't get too much crap from bullies. Most of the kids are ok to hang out with; there aren't many scandals or anything. Just make sure you don't start flirting with any boys before you know which girls are into them." I nodded.

"Most of the teachers are pretty chill. Ms. Alberona or Cana-sensei is most of our favorite. She just graduated from college and is a die-hard alcoholic. She's usually drinking or hungover in class. Ironically, she teaches health. Needless to say that class teaches you nothing.

"Elf-sensei is Mirajane's younger brother and Lisanna's older brother, also fresh out of college. He's the gym teacher and anatomy teacher. He's all bark and no bite. Reedus-sensei teaches art, and he's such a good teacher that he makes the class feel easy. English is taught by Bacchus-sensei, Cana's boyfriend of three years. He's also usually hungover but when he gets hangover he just makes the class harder. Don't sweat it too much, the tests are usually easy.

"Math is taught by Gildarts, the class is easy but the tests are hard. However, you can usually find the tests online and use them to study. Chemistry is taught by Ichiya-sensei. There are never tests in his class, so don't expect to be able to get low grades on all the experiments and then bring them up with tests. You won't get the chance.

"Principal Makarov is the best principal Fairy Tail could ask for. He's easygoing and understanding, but he will take issues like bullying very seriously. The vice principal is Laxus, but he doesn't do much. That's why he runs Vermillion's. His job as vice principal is really easy.

"The one person you want to watch out for is Minerva. She's a sophomore, and the word sophomoric couldn't fit her any better. She thinks she has everyone in the palm of her hand, and I guess she sort of does. She has two guys with her all the time, Sting and Rogue, and though they may not agree with her all the time, they'll do whatever she says, and they're not scrawny. They're pretty tough. You don't want to get on Minerva's bad side; if you do, she'll make your life miserable.

"Unfortunately that means that you can't get too romantic or anything with most of the football team, because she has them wrapped around her finger and thinks that all of them are hers. You could probably get away with some of them though, like Gray. She gave up on Gray after losing multiple fights to Juvia, who's madly in love with him. But there's one person you absolutely can't fall for. He's the hottest guy at Fairy Tail High and the quarterback of the football team, and all the girls want him, including Minerva even though she already has a boyfriend. Minerva will hate you forever if you fall for him."

"Who's that?" I asked curiously, crossing my fingers that it wasn't…

"Natsu Dragneel."

**A/N Ooooh things just got intense. Also, let me explain something. Erza is going to be a freshman; she knows all of this stuff because she grew up in Magnolia. Also, my town is too small for a middle school. Our elementary school goes k-6 and our high school goes 7-12. I'm kind of basing it off of that a bit, so Erza would know about all of the teachers and kids in older grades.**

** Just clearing that up in case you go to legitimate middle schools and such. **

** Thank you all who have reviewed, followed, and favorite! It means so much to me. Each one of those is like a little voice saying, "Hey, your story is good! Other people think so! Keep writing, someone likes this story!" **

** I hope you continue to enjoy and read!**

** Until next time!**


	3. Falling For You

If I had been drinking something, I probably would have spit it out all over Erza. For that reason, I assumed it was a blessing that she hadn't wanted me to make tea. "N-Natsu…" I gasped, "NATSU?" my voice shook as I remembered waking up just this morning with the pink-haired idiot in my bed. I stood up and said, "Not Natsu, it can't be!"

Erza looked at me in surprise and she said, "Don't tell me you've already fallen for the boy." I sighed and sunk back down next to her.

"No, it's not that," I said with a sigh, "It's just that I met him and Gray yesterday when I was buying groceries. Natsu almost knocked me over but caught me. Then we talked for a little while before I left. In any case, this morning when I woke up he had broken into my apartment and was sleeping in my bed. He claims that since we're friends he wanted to check my place out… in the middle of the night. From an outsider's perspective it could've looked like we were a couple."

The red-haired girl smiled and closed her eyes. "Well," she said, "there's no way Minerva will ever find out about that. Natsu sure is an idiot though. I should know; he and I have been friends since kindergarten. Minerva works in a funny way. Natsu has lots of friends that are girls, like me, Levy, and Lisanna. But Minerva doesn't see us as threats because we've all been friends for so long. I'm sure if you hang out with all of us she won't see you as a threat either."

I nodded and said, "That's good. Despite his idiocy, I'd be sad if I couldn't be friends with him." I decided not to tell her about how my heart had raced and heat had rushed to my cheeks when I was with him.

"So, when do you start working, Lucy?" Erza inquired.

I smiled and said, "Tomorrow. I work weekdays except Friday from six to nine and Saturdays from five to ten."

She nodded and said, "I'll have to start dropping by there more often. Sometimes I'll go in just to chat with Mira, and now since there are two people to talk to, I guess I'll have to go in twice as much." I laughed a little bit and shook my head.

"I don't think that's necessarily how it works Erza," I said when I'd stopped laughing, "but if you want to drop by while I'm working that'd be great. If business is as slow as you and Mira say, then I'm sure I'll get bored often."

She grinned and said, "Alright then!" Suddenly we heard a crash from another room. Erza and I looked at each other, then both stood up and hurried to my bedroom. Sure enough, there was a boy lying face-first on the floor… a boy with pink hair and a white scarf.

"Natsu?" we both said in confusion, and he looked up with a grin before standing up, brushing himself off, and adjusting his scarf. He looked from me, to Erza, back to me and then back to Erza.

"Sorry, I was getting chased by some thug or somethin'. It's not like I even did anything; this thug was just looking to pick a fight and started chasing me. So I thought I'd just jump through your window again Luce!"

"What did you do to the thug," Erza said calmly, seeing right through Natsu's lie. Honestly, I could have seen through it too. He looked too uneasy when he said he didn't do anything.

Natsu looked at us and then at the ground and mumbled, "I told him he looked like a wimpy hobo and that I could beat him up easily." Erza narrowed her eyes and whacked Natsu on the back of the head. He pouted and rubbed it, and I was surprised that he didn't get angry with Erza for whacking him.

"You should know better," Erza scolded, "He probably wasn't even a thug. You shouldn't go around calling people you know nothing about mean names. That makes you no better than Minerva."

The pinkette narrowed his eyes and glared at the ground, muttering, "Tch, I can't stand Minerva, and yet that bitch thinks that I'm obsessed with her for some reason." Erza smiled and nodded.

"That's why you don't want to sink to her level," Erza said, ruffling his hair in a sisterly way. He ducked away from her hand and stuck out his tongue childishly. I laughed at how cute the scene was, and we all seemed to forget for a little bit that Natsu had broken into my apartment. Oh, that's right, _Natsu broke into my apartment._

"None of this gives you the right to break into my apartment, idiot!" I yelled at Natsu, "You can't just come crashing through my window whenever you feel like! I barely know you! Erza is one thing, but Natsu I've barely talked to you!"

Erza lifted her hand slightly and said, "So Lucy, what you're saying is that I can break into your apartment and come crashing through your window whenever I feel like it?" I groaned and shook my head.

"No, that's _not _what I'm saying, but I'd probably be more comfortable with you doing it than Natsu." Natsu frowned, seemingly hurt by my words, but I didn't care. I wasn't just going to let him get away with breaking in constantly. Little did I know he would be breaking in much, much more in the future.

He shrugged and said, "Well, now that I'm here, I'm hungry. You got any good food, Luce?" Sighing, I went to the refrigerator and pulled out sandwich stuff, laying it out on the counter and taking out three plates.

"Here, you can make a sandwich." Natsu's face brightened up considerably and he ran over, immediately making a sandwich. Erza smiled at me in an apologetic manner and also went to make one, keeping a close eye on Natsu to make sure he didn't use up all of the food—which, knowing him, he would do exactly that.

When they were done making theirs, I made one for myself and put everything away except for the bread, which I left out for later use. I looked over and saw them already sitting at the small dining table. I went over and joined them. I hadn't noticed at first, but Natsu had made five sandwiches. He scarfed them down in a matter of minutes. Erza and I actually ate ours at a decent pace.

Natsu sat back in the chair and put his feet up on the table in front of him before saying, "So Luce, what brings you to Magnolia?"

I sighed and could feel my own hesitation before I said, "My dad wanted me to get used to living on my own, so he sent me here."

I noticed Natsu's eyes narrowing before Erza stood up and said, "I should be going. I have things I need to get done, but thank you for having me, Lucy." She smiled before leaving. When she'd left there was a sudden awkward silence between Natsu and myself. I shifted uncomfortably under his harsh stare. His eyes were narrowed completely now, and though his expression was really unreadable, I felt like he was glaring at me. His gaze practically burned me.

"I don't appreciate being lied to," he finally said in a low, gentle voice. "Would you care to tell me what really brings you to Magnolia, Lucy Heartfilia?"

I didn't know what to say; no one had ever seen through any of my lies before, so I'd never been pinned down to tell the truth like this. "I-I already told you," I stammered, at a loss for words, "M-my dad wanted me to be able to live on my own, s-so he sent me here for high school."

Natsu stood up abruptly and said, "Cut the crap and tell me the truth or at least tell me that you can't tell the truth! I understand if you don't want to tell me the real reason you don't have to, but at least say that! I'm not going to just accept your lie."

I was going to do as he suggested and just tell him that I couldn't bring myself to talk about it. But his angry eyes held something else… concern, concern for his friend whom he'd just met the day before. He also looked a little hurt, and I felt bad. Something about him made me feel like I could trust him, and I was talking before I could stop myself.

"Alright fine, you wanna know why I came to Magnolia? I come from a filthy rich family filled with filthy people! My dad has all the money in the world and yet he feels the need to preserve every last penny as though his life depends on it. He only cares about himself and his cash! He couldn't care less about me! He sent me away because he didn't want to keep spending money for me to go to private schools, and quite frankly, I didn't want to go to the damn private schools in the first place."

I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks the more I spoke, and Natsu said quietly, "L-Lucy… you don't have to-,"

"Its fine," I snapped before he could finish his sentence. "You asked so I'm going to tell you. My mom died when I was very young, and my dad blamed me for it." My voice cracked as I went on, "He told me all the time that it was my fault… and… and it must be… it must be my fault. Why else would he say that all the time? Ever since she died he's hated on me constantly, and I deserved everything he said to me. He said he sent me here because he didn't want to pay for my school tuition, and yet he paid for my tuition at Fairy Tail High for all four years.

"So why am I here in Magnolia? I'll never know the exact, word-for-word reason, but in a nutshell, I'm here because my father can't stand me and wants nothing to do with me." I finished, and by now I was beginning to sob.

Natsu's expression was pained. He stared at me in horror; I would never know if it was horror from my words or horror from the fact that he'd set me off like that and indirectly made me cry. He walked over to me and fell to his knees beside the chair I was sitting in. He pulled me into a tight hug and I dropped my head onto his shoulder. I could feel him shaking from rage and sadness.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, clutching me as close to him as possible. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have bugged you about it. I'm sorry all of that happened to you."

I hesitantly wrapped my arms around him as well, crying into his shoulder. We remained like that for a little while before he picked me up very carefully as though I was a china doll that could break at any given moment and carried me into my bedroom. With careful, hesitant movements, he set me down on my bed and pulled the covers up to my chin.

He sat next to me on the bed and put his head in his hands, letting out a long sigh. I looked at him and when the sobbing and tears had subsided I said quietly, "Don't be sorry, Natsu. It's not your fault. And you said yourself that I didn't have to tell you if I wasn't comfortable doing so. It was my decision. Don't blame yourself."

"I made you cry," he said in a soft voice, "If I ever make you cry again, they'll be tears of joy, I swear it Lucy Heartfilia."

I laughed a little and said, "You've called me Lucy Heartfilia twice today. You know its fine for you to just call me Lucy, right?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah, but I like the name Heartfilia." He flashed me a huge, toothy grin and said, "It's almost as pretty as you!" I couldn't help but laugh and he laughed with me, and eventually we were just lying there on the bed, side by side.

He smiled at me and said, "Y'know Luce, I'm kinda glad I broke into your apartment twice today. If I hadn't, we might not be best friends now. We might still just be…. ac… acquaint…. Ugh, what's that word that people use when they're friends with someone but not really?"

I laughed at his childish question and said, "Acquaintances."

"Right, acquaintances." He said, smiling. "I'm glad we're more than acquaintances."

I nodded in agreement with that statement and then allowed myself to think. _We might not be best friends right now. _I looked at him. I knew he was childish, but when he said that, I also knew that he was being one hundred percent honest and serious. _He really thinks we're best friends already. I've only known him for one day, and yet he knows more about me than my own family. Natsu Dragneel sure has a strange way of working._

The realization dawned on me and I felt my heart speeding up again. Only this time, I couldn't run away from him, because this was my apartment and in all honesty it would probably be really difficult for me to forcibly make Natsu leave. I just had to go with it and try to hide my racing heart and blushing face.

Luckily for me, he stood up and said, "Well, Luce, I should probably leave. After all, I _did _break into your apartment. I'd suggest you get some rest; I know, as silly as it sounds, crying has a way of exhausting people. I'll see you soon though!"

I nodded with a smile and he jumped out the window with me screaming, "YOU CAN USE THE DOOR YOU KNOW!" Sighing, I decided to take his advice and closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, it was dark outside. I slid out of bed and looked at the clock. It was 4:30 in the morning, but I wasn't tired enough to go back to sleep. I shuffled out to my kitchen and began to brew a cup of coffee and pour myself a bowl of cereal. Since I hadn't really left the day before, I put dry shampoo in my hair instead of legitimately washing it.

I waited for the coffee to get done brewing and put creamer in it before heading to the table with the mug and bowl of cereal to eat. I finished both and placed them in the sink to wash later, then went to read for a little while.

At around 6 I heard a thud coming from my bedroom and groaned, as I had a feeling I already knew who it was. I walked into my room and saw Natsu sitting on the floor, rubbing his head. I assumed he'd fallen on it when he came in through the window. _Serves him right, _I couldn't help but think as he stood up with a grin.

"Hey Luce!" he said and I glared at him, clearly looking for an explanation as to why he had broken into my apartment _again._ "I was hungry," he said, "Do you have any food I can eat?" Sighing, I mumbled an annoyed 'yes' and dragged him out to my kitchen.

I got him a bowl of cereal and handed it to him. He grinned and said, "Gee, thanks Luce!" I just nodded and went to write a letter to my mom since I didn't write one the day before.

I was in the middle of writing when I felt a strange sensation. I jumped at the sound of Natsu's voice behind me. "Whatcha writing?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing," I said hastily, flipping the paper over. He tried to look over my shoulder and I shoved the paper towards the back of the desk, out of the light of the lamp. I quickly turned the lamp off. He made a move to grab the paper, and I did the first thing that came to mind; I ripped it in half. He frowned and crossed his arms. Confusion was written on his face.

"Sorry," I said, "but that's something I just can't tell people about yet." My voice was stony. "It's a personal thing. Can you respect that?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah, I can respect it. Sorry I made you rip it in half."

I shrugged and said, "I hadn't written much anyways. I can always just re-write it, it's no problem at all."

We were silent and then he looked out the window at the now light sky and said with poorly masked excitement, "Hey Luce! Let's go look at clouds!" I cocked an eyebrow and he said, "Put on clean clothes and I'll show ya. It's really fun! I used to do it with Igneel all the time!"

I was going to ask who Igneel was but decided not to for the time being. I would later. But for now, the urgency in his voice made me feel as though I needed to hurry. I changed into a pink tank top and white short-shorts, putting on white combat boots with pink laces. I tied my hair with a white ribbon, and as soon as I was done, Natsu grabbed my arm and sprinted outside with me.

We ran to the central park in Magnolia. There were a few people there just walking through, as it was around seven in the morning, far too early for anyone to be coming to the park. Natsu sat on the ground and yanked on my wrist, causing me to fall on my butt next to him. He then fell back so he was lying on the ground, looking at the sky, and I did the same.

"Okay, now what you do is you look at the clouds and when you find one that's shaped like something point it out! Like, look that one looks like a whale!" I squinted in confusion as he pointed at a cloud, but couldn't see which cloud it was

He took my hand and used it to point at the cloud. "See?" I saw where he was looking and a wide smile stretched across my face.

"It _does _look like a whale, doesn't it?" I said, laughing. He nodded eagerly. Then we both fell silent as we each looked for oddly shaped clouds.

"Natsu, look at that cloud, it looks just like a dragon blowing fire!" I laughed, pointing it out to him. After I found a dragon, he pointed out one that looked like a fairy with a tail. I was skeptical at first, saying that fairies didn't have tails, because in children's picture books like the ones I used to read, fairies were just little people with wings.

He winked at me and said, "But you can't know for sure. No one's actually seen a fairy before, so how can we know whether or not they actually have tails? We can't know, until we find out, so it'll remain a mystery. Unless, of course, someone tries to figure it out, and then the mystery would become one amazing adventure."

I smiled and giggled before saying, "I guess you're right. But if we're going to argue that fairies might have tails, why don't we argue that fairies might not be people either?"

"Now this is just getting out of hand," Natsu complained, and I just laughed even more.

We watched the clouds for a while until people started showing up at the park, then we decided to walk around the city and Natsu offered to show me around since I just moved to Magnolia. We ended up stopping at a cute little ice cream shop and Natsu bought us both ice cream (much to my displeasure, as I didn't want him to have to pay for me, but unfortunately I didn't have money on me and he tricked me into telling him my favorite kind of ice cream.)

The day wore on and by noon my face was hurting from laughing and smiling so much. I didn't think it was possible for me to smile so much in one day, but he had proven me wrong. By the time we came back to my apartment, I was sure that there was nothing more for me to see in Magnolia; he'd told me about every nice spot, every spot I should avoid, and even the spots that were virtually unimportant like abandoned parking lots.

I wasn't even tired, despite having woken up so early. Maybe it was the coffee, or maybe it was the sugar rush, but I felt higher in spirits and energy than I had in a long, long time.

"Well, I guess I ought to go now. You probably have a life to attend to or something." Natsu said, sighing. I smiled and shrugged.

"I don't work until six, but you're right, I should probably do a few things before then. It was really nice hanging out Natsu; I had a lot of fun."

He smiled and said, "I'm glad you did, Lucy. It makes me happy to see you so happy. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

I nodded and said, "Yeah. See you tomorrow." We hugged, and then Natsu walked off down the sidewalk. I sighed as I watched him walk away. Erza's warning bounced around my head, screaming at me not to fall for him or the worst bully in Magnolia would make my life a living hell. But I couldn't help it. There was no doubt that I was falling for Natsu Dragneel.

And to be honest, I didn't really care. I thought that if I had Natsu, there was no way life could be hell.

Boy was I wrong. Natsu would continue to make my life better, but no matter how hard he would try, Minerva would always have the power to make my life hell.

**A/N Ahhhh NaLu! And so it begins, hehehe. I'm going to write the next chapter like, her first day at work but then I might time-skip to when school starts. What do you guys think? Let me know in a review. You can just review A or B! Also thank you very very VERY much to my new favorites and followers! and a special shout-out to rdcampa who has reviewed on each of my chapters. That's awesome, thank you! And to my other reviewers, you're equally as awesome!**

** REVIEW YOUR VOTE: PICK ONE:**

**Write out every day of the next week and a half**

**Time skip to when school starts**

**Until next time!**


	4. A Nightmare Begins

After Natsu walked away, I walked into my apartment struggling in vain to suppress the fluttery feelings in my chest. I couldn't help but laugh as I went to my bathroom. I had never felt so incredibly happy. Smiling uncontrollably, I fixed my hair and reapplied my makeup, fixing some that was smudged. Afterward I decided to rewrite the letter to my mom and read until I had to go to Vermillion's.

As soon as my pencil touched the paper, it seemed the paper filled itself up in a matter of seconds. I wrote all about how great Natsu was and how happy I was and how much mom would have liked him. I wrote about watching the clouds, touring Magnolia, my attempt to stop him from buying my ice cream for me and my epic failure as well. I wrote about how for once, I was excited for school, not dreading it because for once, it seemed I had real friends who weren't jerks and who didn't care only for their material objects and their mountains of money.

I ended up filling both the front side of the page and the back, and by the time I was done I only had an hour to eat and read before I had to get to work. I put it in an envelope, sealed it and plopped it in the drawer with the other one I'd written.

Once I was done with that I went and made myself some mac and cheese for dinner and grabbed my book, telling myself I'd read at least two chapters before I left. Being the book worm I was, I managed to read quickly while eating and not make a huge mess. By the time I had read two chapters, it was 5:45, which meant I should get to work.

I placed my bowl in the sink and left my book on the table before leaving the house and going to Vermillion's Bar and Grill. When I arrived there, Mirajane was wiping down a few tables. She smiled at me and I walked in and said, "Hi there Lucy! You can go ahead and go behind the bar; I'm assuming you can handle bartending?"

I nodded and did as she said. She gave a couple sitting at one of the tables their food and then came over to me.

"You sure look happy." Mira noted, smiling knowingly. "You _also _look pretty out of it. So, who's the lucky guy that you've fallen for, eh? Tell me all about him."

With a sigh, I leaned back against the countertop of the bar and said in an awe-struck voice, "Oh Mira, he's _wonderful. _He's kind and funny, and childish but that's what makes him so perfect. This morning he broke into my apartment, because for whatever reason it's too difficult for him to use the door. Anyways, he took me to the park and we looked at the shapes of clouds, and then he showed me around Magnolia and bought me ice cream and he was so kind. I never got bored for a second but never got upset or angry either."

She smiled and said, "He sure sounds amazing. From your description, I have to say I'm a bit jealous. Who is this dream guy?"

"Natsu Dragneel," I murmured, imagining his bright grin and his fond chuckle.

Mirajane raised an eyebrow at me and said, "You don't say? Natsu Dragneel? I never knew him to be a charmer. He must really like you if he did all that with you and for you, Lucy."

"Really?" my voice probably sounded way too hopeful, but I didn't care.

She nodded and said, "If I'm not mistaken he's probably fallen for you. I know he and my little sister Lisanna have been best friends forever and he's never once done anything like that with her. Sure, they hang out and go places, but never that much in one day. And he bought you ice cream? Normally he tries to mooch off of everyone else."

I couldn't stop my smile from growing wider, and she smiled too. We heard a jingle at the door and a boy walked in. He had black hair and red eyes and didn't smile as he walked over to the bar and sat on a stool. Mira and I both stopped smiling and looked at him curiously. He seemed to make the temperature in the room drop.

"How may I help you? Would you like a drink or a menu?" I asked him in a nervous voice.

He shot me a cold stare and said, "You're Lucy Heartfilia, correct? Erza's new friend, just moved here? A little birdie told me you were hanging out with Natsu all morning. Am I mistaken?"

I swallowed and said, "N-no, you're not mistaken."

The boy merely nodded and said, "I'd like a bottle of beer please. There's no particular brand or type I care for. Just surprise me."

Mirajane and I shared a look before I picked out a bottle of beer from behind the bar, popped the cap off and handed it to the boy. He swirled the liquid around for a little bit before taking a long swig. He then looked at me, his gaze cold and piercing as though he was looking straight into my soul and freezing it and said, "You might want to start watching your back, Miss Heartfilia. There are a lot of people after Natsu. After all, he's attractive and the quarterback of Fairy Tail High's football team. If they find out you and Natsu have been hanging out…"

He flicked the bottle cap that was lying on the bar and I flinched to one side, but it still nicked my cheek and I could feel a little blood drizzle out of the tiny cut. He shrugged and say, "But hey, it's your life, and if you want to hang out with him, that's your decision. Just don't say that I didn't warn you."

After a while of cold, disturbing silence, he slid off of his stool, slapped some money down on the bar and said, "If you don't mind I think I'll take the rest of this to go. Watch your back, Heartfilia." The last sentence came out as a sneer and he snatched up the bottle of beer and left.

"Do you know who that was?" I asked nervously, looking at Mirajane, who was paler than ever.

"I believe his name is R-Rogue," she said simply, her words shaky and uneven. "I-I'm going to check on that couple. T-they're probably about r-ready to p-pay."

I watched as she jumped up in a jittery manner and hurried over to the couple, asking them if they needed anything or wanted dessert, and then offering to bring their check. I, meanwhile, took Rogue's money and made sure he'd paid the correct amount before putting it in the cash register.

_Rogue… _I thought _where have I heard the name Rogue before? It was definitely someone Erza told me about, but whom?_

The thought bugged me all night, and while Mira and I tried to make small talk, it all ended up dying out since we were both too shaken from that occurrence to really start another conversation. A few people came and went at Vermillion's, and I treated a decent number of people to drinks. Eventually around 8:50, Mira said I could go and that she'd close up.

I practically sprinted home, Rogue's warning echoing in my mind. When I got home, I hastily showered and prepared for bed, then curled up under the covers and attempted to fall asleep. However, sleep just couldn't seem to come. Eventually though, I finally managed to fall into a very fitful sleep.

_I was walking down the street and I swore I could hear footsteps behind me. Someone was laughing. It was a dark, sinister laugh, which continuously sounded in my ears. The voice would be very low and chilling at some points, and then very high and blood-curdling at other points. It seemed I was walking down a dark alley with no end. I tried to speed up, terror flooding through my veins._

_ I was speed walking. The footsteps sped up, too. The voice grew louder in my ears. The laughter continued on in the background but now I could hear someone talking. Their voice was cold, and it made my ears feel icy. It felt like they were breathing the words right into my ears, like they were standing directly behind me. Chills ran up and down my spine as they spoke to me, saying words that I'd already heard before._

_ "Just don't say I didn't warn you."_

_ I tried to run, but my knees locked. My legs wouldn't move. I was stuck. All I could do was pivot, so I turned around to face whoever was chasing me. A faceless girl with dark hair stood before me, wearing a blue dress. She held a pocket knife and looked at it, that blank faceless expression terrifying me._

_ "You can't run anymore," she sneered. "Even if you run, I don't need to do anything physical to ruin you."_

_ I shuddered at her voice. It had no sound, and yet it had every sound. It was like it was just there, in my mind. I tried to scream, but alas, there was no sound. _

_ She laughed at my pitiful attempts to yell, to get help from someone, anyone._

_ "NATSU!" finally, finally I could yell, "NATSU! HELP! ERZA! ERZA, PLEASE!"_

"NATSU!" the scream tore from my throat, and I sat up in bed, drenched in cold sweat, shaking uncontrollably. My hands fumbled for my phone on my bedside table. When my fingers finally curled around it, I jerked it up and opened Erza's contact. I tried calling her. It rang once… twice… _please, Erza, you have to pick up…_ four, five,

"Lucy…?" a groggy voice sounded, and I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

"Erza," I whimpered into the phone.

"Lucy, what's wrong? Why are you crying? I'm coming over!" her voice was alert now, and I went to open my mouth but she had hung up on me. The only thing that I could do was stay in bed and shiver, glad now that I had left the door unlocked and wouldn't have to get up to answer it when she came.

It felt like an eternity before I finally heard the door open and shut and footsteps walking quickly to my room. I looked in the doorway and saw the redhead standing there, wearing normal clothes, and all I could think was, _Wow, she can change fast._

She came over to me and set down next to me, pulling me into a hug. She rested her chin on my head and gently ran her fingers through my hair. "Mavis, Lucy," she murmured softly, "You had me worried sick. What happened?"

"N-n-n-nightmare," I stuttered, clinging to her pathetically. She frowned.

"Are you okay to explain?" she asked in a gentle tone that helped lessen my shivering and calm me down.

"Y-yeah," I said. "When I was working t-tonight, a boy came in a-and warned me. H-he told me that I should b-be careful about h-hanging out with N-Natsu so much because s-so many people l-like Natsu and might t-try to hurt me. A-at my old schools, I got b-bullied quite a bit. I-in my n-nightmare, I heard his w-warning. A girl with n-no face took out a pocket knife a-and I couldn't run. I t-tried screaming for you or N-Natsu but nothing came out. S-she said to me, _'You can't run anymore. Even if you run, I don't need to do anything physical to ruin you.' _I-I woke up a-after that."

She was perfectly still, holding me in a tight but calming embrace. "Lucy," she said in a deadly calm tone of voice, "the boy who came in, do you know his name?"

"R-Rogue," I said, sniffling. I felt her tense.

"Damn," she muttered, "Shit! I was so sure this wouldn't happen. Mavis, Lucy I'm so sorry I let this happen. I am so sorry. Don't cry, Lucy. Please stop crying for me. I promise you, as long as I'm around no one will touch you. I refuse to let you get hurt. Don't be scared."

I nodded as she spoke, and then said softly, "I think I'm okay now. Thanks, Erza. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come. Also, please don't go apologizing on me. You have nothing to be sorry for. If anything, I should be sorry for waking you up this late. You're the best friend I could ask for."

She let me go from the hug and smiled at me. "I didn't mind being woken up. I would've felt even worse if you had struggled through this on your own, and would've ended up blaming myself for not helping you in your time of need. Do you want me to go now, or should I stay? I don't feel comfortable leaving you if you're still afraid."

I was going to tell her that yes, she could leave, but when I opened my mouth that's not what came out. "Actually, could you stay with me? I don't want to be alone tonight."

She nodded and I scooted over, patting the part of the bed next to me, indicating that she could lie down there. She gave me a small, slightly sad smile and slid under the covers beside me before we both fell asleep.

_**One and a Half Weeks Later**_

My alarm clock blared in my ear and I groaned, rolling over and slamming my hand down on it. I almost fell back to sleep when it occurred to me that today was going to be my first day at Fairy Tail High. I bolted out of bed and ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth and do my hair and makeup. After that I hurried and changed into my outfit that I already had laid out, a blue and white tank top with a blue skirt, a blue hair tie, a brown belt with my keys on it (zodiac keys which I collected) and brown knee-high boots.

When I was done doing that, I grabbed my brown shoulder bag which had my school materials in it and got a cup of orange juice and a couple pieces of toast. Erza was going to meet me outside of my apartment at 7:30 and we were going to walk to school together, which started at 8, but since I had to get my schedule and find my classrooms and everything we wanted to get there early.

Since that Wednesday that I met Rogue, nothing really bad had happened. Erza and I hung out more and she explained to me that Rogue was one of Minerva's dogs, so to speak. I continued to hang out with Natsu, but I decided not to worry him with my problems and tell him about Rogue. I decided that as long as they didn't give me anymore trouble, I didn't need to tell him about it.

I finished eating breakfast and went to wash the dishes while waiting for Erza. As soon as I finished, there was a knock at the door, and sure enough it was Erza.

She smiled and said, "Sorry I'm a little early, but since you're going to have no idea where to go I thought the earlier, the better!"

I laughed and nodded in agreement. "You actually made perfect timing, I just finished getting around."

The two of us left and I locked my door before we headed off to the school. I felt like a lost fawn, shuffling as close to Erza as I could get as we made our way through the crowd of people. It was a _big _school, and a lot of people came around the same time we did. After what felt like a lifetime of pushing through groups of people, we finally made it to the main office.

A little old man with white hair stood atop the desk, grinning. "You must be Lucy Heartfilia!" he said to me. "I'm Principal Makarov. Sorry we couldn't get you your schedule a week ago with everyone else's. After all, your application and tuition came with such short notice. I see you've met Miss Erza Scarlet, a good friend to have; she's your class's president and president of the entire student council."

I smiled and said, "Don't worry about the schedule thing; I'm used to transferring so I should be able to adapt quickly." He grinned brightly and handed me my schedule. "Thank you, sir!"

As we walked out I heard him call after me, telling me that I didn't have to be so formal and that I could just call him Principal or Makarov. I looked at my schedule and Erza glanced at it over my shoulder. She smiled and said, "There's Principal Makarov for you. I have the exact same schedule, except you have a study hall eighth period and I have student council."

We walked to our homeroom class together and took seats next to one another. I looked around curiously. There was a girl with short white hair sitting in front of me. She turned around as we came in and said, "Hey, are you Lucy?" I nodded and she said, "Awesome! I'm Lisanna. Mirajane and Natsu have told me so much about you! To be honest, I think Natsu has a crush on you. I've been so excited to meet, you, though!"

I grinned and said, "It's nice to meet you too Lisanna! And I wouldn't be so quick to say he has a crush on me; honestly I don't even know if he realizes what crushes are." Erza, Lisanna, and I all started laughing because it was the truth.

Natsu came in and sat behind me, and we all got into a conversation about the summer and such. I was suddenly aware of a cold feeling, and I turned around to see a girl standing behind me. She wore a blue strapless top that her boobs were practically spilling out of and a little gray skirt that hardly covered her butt. She had dark hair and narrowed, malicious eyes. She wore too much make-up and had a sly smirk on her face.

"Are you… Lucy Heartfilia? May I speak to you in the hall, please?"

I looked at my friends, engrossed in conversation, and nodded, feeling confused. The two of us walked out to the hall and she popped one hip out and crossed her arms, smiling as she eyed me up and down. She murmured, "Lucy Heartfilia, I hear you come from a very rich background and yet you struggle to get by because daddy won't provide you with money."

My eyes widened and I whispered, "What? How… how do you know that?"

"Your mommy died when you were little, didn't she? Layla Heartfilia, was that her name? And all your life you transferred from expensive private school to expensive private school to avoid bullies. No wonder they came after you, you slut." She smirked, and I knew it was probably because I gave her the exact reaction she wanted. I stepped back, feeling fear rise in me. This couldn't happen, not again.

"Well, silly me, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Minerva. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucy. Unfortunately we only have so much longer to talk… so I'll tell you what I came here to tell you. Natsu Dragneel is mine. He's the hottest boy at this school and I, fittingly, am the most beautiful girl. Stay away from him and I'll treat you like a best friend. Though, honestly, a whore like you would never stay away from a boy like him. And if you don't stay away… I'll destroy you."

She smiled and waved before sauntering off down the hall. I stared in shock after her before slowly walking back into the classroom and slipping into my seat. Erza gave me a weird look, but I shook my head and waved her off.

She turned away, but I could see her peering at me. The bell rang in one minute, and just before it did a girl with blue hair came rushing in. Her arms were full of books; she had at least five clutched to her chest. She flopped down in a seat next to me and grinned. "Hi," she said breathlessly, "I'm Levy. Whew, I barely made it. I just _had _to stop at the library before I came here."

I looked at her with a smile and said, "I'm Lucy. Do you like reading too?"

"Love it!" she said with a bright smile on her face, "It's practically my life. I've read just about every good book there is to read!"

"Same," I said, laughing. She smiled.

"I'd love to get to know you better. You wanna sit with me at lunch?"

I nodded and then the bell rang. Our teacher walked in, a short girl with blue hair and large brown eyes. She looked like… _a little kid._

"Um, hello class, you can all call me Wendy-sensei. If you don't want to add sensei to the end, you don't have to. I'm going to pass out your hall passes for this month and then you guys will have some free time before first period."

She walked around, passing out little slips of paper that read HALL PASS at the top. When she was done, everyone broke out into conversations. Natsu leaned over to me and said, "Hey Luce, what do you have first period?"

I averted my gaze and mumbled, "Health."

He grinned and said, "That's awesome, so do I!"

I smiled a little but then saw a boy with blond hair and blue eyes glaring at me from the back of the classroom and my smile fell. He took my schedule and looked at it, then said something about being partners in chemistry. I nodded but didn't say anything and couldn't bring myself to smile at all.

Natsu's eyebrows furrowed and he said, "What's wrong, Luce?" I didn't say anything and he said in a serious voice, "Lucy."

"Nothing," I said, jolting up and giving him a cold look. "Nothing's wrong, okay? I'm just tired."

He stared at me, hurt filling his facial expression and went to say something else, but then the bell rang again and I stood up abruptly and turned away from him, following Erza out of the classroom before he could ask me anything else.

**A/N Oh no Minerva aaaaahhhh so scaree! Gosh what a stalker, just happens to know everything about Lucy lmao.**

** Ok here it is everyoneeee~**

** To my reviewers- I time skipped for ya. And also I thought I'd mix it up; Minerva gave Lucy quite a beating in the GMG so I thought she would make a MUCH better bully than Lisanna, who personally I believe is supportive of NaLu and way too sweet to bully anybody. Plus this adds a little twist to it!**

** Thank you all for your support, I'm glad you like it so far!**

** Until next time!**


	5. Day One

We got to health class and took seats, Natsu purposely sitting as close to me as he could so that he could try to get questions out of me, as if I'd actually tell him anything. I couldn't, or at least, I wouldn't. Levy and Erza were in the same class, but Lisanna had a different class. I sighed and stared at my hands, which were folded on the desk in front of me, in silence. Erza kept looking at me like she wanted answers to questions she hadn't asked, and it made me want to run away, but I couldn't since we were in school.

Levy eventually picked a conversation with Erza, probably able to feel the tension between her, Natsu, and myself. Eventually, Cana-sensei came stumbling into the room, grumbling something inaudible, and we all looked up, waiting for a lesson.

"You kids," Cana growled, "have no idea how hard it is to be an adult."

"Cana-sensei, didn't you just graduate college? So you're hardly an adult." Someone pointed out, and she just shot a cold glare at them. Cana looked pissed, and I hoped nobody else would do anything to set her off.

"Do you have a hangover, Cana-sensei?" someone at the back of the classroom piped up. The brunette got an annoyed look on her face and she began walking toward us in a menacing manner. She stopped right in front of the first row of desks. She then broke out into insane laughter and swung her hand down on the desk in front of her. The girl sitting there looked terrified.

"When don't I have hangover!" Most of the students laughed. Cana then said that we could spend the period doing whatever we wanted and sat at her desk, falling asleep in no time. Natsu turned and fixed me with a hard look, and I felt myself shying away from him under his pressing gaze. Erza and Levy were continuing their conversation, so the stare-down was just between me and Natsu.

He took my arm and gripped it gently, but still to the point where I couldn't get away. So as not to gain suspicion from Levy and Erza, he stood up and pulled me to the side of the classroom.

"What's with you Luce?" he growled softly, "I know you're not just tired. You were fine when we first got here this morning and then when Minerva-," he broke off suddenly, his eyes widening in realization. "Minerva. It was Minerva, wasn't it? I'll beat that bitch to a pulp!" he said angrily.

I broke away from his grasp and said, "No! Okay? No. I really did just wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. It has nothing to do with Minerva." I shifted my gaze as I said the last part and I could practically feel his fury. He must've known that I wasn't going to tell him the truth though, because he just nodded and whipped around stalking off in annoyance. I frowned and walked back to my seat, sitting down and forcing myself to get pulled into the conversation with Levy and Erza.

I kept seeing Natsu glare at me out of the corner of my eye and I felt like I wanted nothing more than to disappear. He couldn't possibly have me figured out already; how did he know that it was Minerva?

Trying to ignore Natsu, I spent the period chatting with Levy and Erza about books and student council, which Levy found to be very intriguing. The rest of the day went by much the same. We didn't do very much in any of our classes and all of our teachers claimed they didn't believe in homework, which was awesome for me since I had to work week nights.

Eventually lunch time rolled around. I sat with Levy, Erza, Lisanna, and Natsu, as well as Gray, Juvia, and Gajeel, who I'd met in different classes. There were exactly three seats left at our table. We were planning on flagging down some of Natsu and Erza's other friends when Minerva walked up with Sting and Rogue. I could feel Erza tense up next to me, and saw Natsu glare at the dark haired girl. In fact, the entire table seemed pissed about her showing up.

"Mind if we sit here?" Minerva asked. Before anyone could answer, she sat down with the two boys on either side of her. She smiled and eyed us like we were prey and she was a predator. We all silently started eating and trying to ignore Minerva, but it was impossible.

"So Lucy," she said in her smooth, dark voice, smirking at me. I looked at her and gulped. She grinned and said, "Do tell me where you got that outfit. Did you get it at Slut Emporium or Whore Mart?"

Gray glared at Minerva and said, "You're one to talk. You're the epitome of slutty." I was grateful that he stuck up for me, but also a little fearful at what Minerva's reaction would be. Sting and Rogue looked pretty menacing too, and if they did whatever she asked… I shuddered.

Minerva just laughed and said, "And you're also one to talk, Gray Fullbuster. After all, you have quite an issue with stripping. But my question wasn't for you. It was for Miss Heartfilia."

"As if I'd tell you where I got it," I said quietly, trying as hard as I could to not look her in the eye.

The dark-haired sophomore raised an eyebrow and leaned forward before murmuring, "So you bought it at Bitch Land? You should know better than to shop there, you're way too… flabby for the clothes they sell."

"Shut your mouth!" Natsu growled, standing up abruptly, and it seemed as though the entire cafeteria fell silent at his angry outburst. "You have no right to make fun of her, Minerva, especially when your skirt is shorter than hers and your shirt is way too small and might I add horribly unattractive. It's awfully hypocritical of you to call her a slut or anything like that. What's your deal anyways? Why do you always have to be such a bitch?"

Minerva's sly smirk fell into an angry scowl and she said softly, "I'd be careful what you say, Dragneel. As you know, I regard you quite highly, so your words won't be affecting _you _in anyway. But they will end up affecting _someone._" She cast me a menacing look before she stood up and said, "Come on, Sting, Rogue; these losers aren't worth our time." She winked at us before sauntering off to a different table.

I noticed that Erza and Natsu looked about ready to kill people. Lisanna and Levy were looking at me with unmasked concern on their faces and Gajeel and Gray were gritting their teeth in the beginnings of rage. Juvia looked slightly upset but also concerned. Levy put a hand on my shoulder and asked softly, "Are you okay, Lucy?"

I swallowed; I wouldn't be weak here. I couldn't be weak, not when I finally had friends. So I plastered a smile on my face and nodded as brightly as I could. "Yeah, I'm fine! As if her words would bother me; she's just full of crap. It's exactly as Natsu said; she's a hypocrite."

Lisanna grinned and said, "Good. I'd feel horrible if she hurt you. And I'd personally have to give her a bloody nose and a black eye."

I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the gentle girl beating Minerva up, and she and Levy laughed with me. Gajeel and Gray still seemed pretty angry though, Natsu positively furious, and Erza looked just as furious but was also giving me a look that told me she saw through my act. I merely looked away from her and began talking with Lisanna, Levy and Juvia.

Before the lunch period ended, I quietly excused myself and left to the bathroom. I stopped at my locker before I went and pulled out an emergency outfit I had in my backpack, just in case anything ever happened. You could never be too safe. I then headed into the bathroom stall. Closing my eyes, I sighed and changed out of my current outfit, into skinny jeans, flats, and a sweater, even though it was still summer outside and much too hot for said clothing.

When I was done, I put my original clothes back into my bag and the bell rang. I waited for Erza to come out of the cafeteria so the two of us could walk to class together. She eyed me as she walked out and I couldn't tell if I was sweating from her intense gaze or from the clothes I'd changed into.

"Why did you change?" she asked, in a very gentle voice, her eyebrows furrowed. "What you were wearing before was nice."

I laughed nervously and said, "I just got cold, that's all."

Erza narrowed her eyes at me and said, "It's over 82 degrees outside, Lucy. If you're cold, you're insane."

"Well, I guess I'm just insane then," I mumbled, shrugging. She sighed and I could tell she was getting frustrated with me.

"Lucy, you know you can't keep this up. Bottling up all of your feelings around your friends, it's never going to work! We care too much about you, and the thing about trying to fit too much of something in a bottle is that eventually all of that stuff is going to come bursting out, and it'll be a hell of a lot worse than if you'd just let it out as it happened and kept the bottle with a fitting amount of feelings in it.

"This is only the first day of Minerva. Maybe you can withstand her for days, maybe weeks or months or heck, maybe even a year, but Lucy you're going to be coming to this school for f_our years._ I know from experience that the tough girl act of yours can't hold out that long. Please, don't start that act. Please."

I looked at her and saw that she looked genuinely worried and sad. I winced and said, "I know what you're saying, but my whole life I've had to be tough. You don't know what I can do, Erza. I can't seem weak, not in front of Minerva, not in front of you, not in front of anybody."

Her eyes softened as we entered the Chemistry classroom and she murmured, "You will never seem weak to me, Lucy. Even if you have to act tough in front of Lisanna, Levy, Gray, and Gajeel, I definitely will never see you as a weak person, and I doubt Natsu would either."

I smiled gratefully at her. She blushed profusely when we entered the room and I saw her eyes fixed on a boy with blue hair and red markings on his face. "J-J-Je-Jell-Jellal-Jellal that's Jellal!" she gasped, and I laughed. It was clear to see that she had a big crush on the boy.

"Go be lab partners with him!" I said, shoving her toward him. She looked at me with wide eyes, her face almost as red as her hair, as I practically picked her up and set her down next to the blue-haired boy. He smiled brightly when he saw her and I saw a light blush appearing on his cheeks as well. I then headed over to where Natsu was.

"You don't mind if we're lab partners, do you?"

Natsu looked at me for a moment and then a huge grin spread across his face and he said, "I'm glad you asked!" I smiled and sat down next to him as we waited for the rest of the class to get there and for Ichiya-sensei to arrive.

He looked at me for a moment, seeming to study me with curiosity alight in his eyes and then said in a confused tone of voice, "Lucy, why are you wearing different clothes? I liked what you had on before."

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could and said calmly, "I got cold."

He frowned and looked me up and down but then shrugged and let it go. I sighed in relief and closed my eyes with a smile. Sometimes his denseness was a blessing.

The rest of the day also seemed to speed by until finally eighth period rolled around. I was tired and hot and wanted nothing more than to be out of the sweater, but thinking of the things that Minerva said to me made me glad that I had had it with me and put it on. Erza told me where to go for my study hall and I went there quickly, getting used to the layout of the school easily. When I got there, I frowned. None of my good friends were there. I sighed and realized that this must just be the penalty for not being in any clubs.

I went to the back and sat alone, content to simply sit there and write for the entire period every day; after all, I was trying to write a novel of my own. Of course, this was not to be. Sure enough, Minerva waltzed in and came right up to sit next to me. I groaned inwardly and tried my best to ignore her, but her prying eyes made it very difficult to do so.

"Where'd your slutty outfit go?" she said in a mock disappointed voice, but I could hear the smile in the tone she used, that annoying, smug grin that screamed, '_You did exactly what I wanted you to do. I have you under my complete control.' _"Now it's going to be harder to pick on you. But I'm sure I'll find some way."

I gritted my teeth, trying to block her out, but every time she opened her mouth her words cut into me like knives. I gripped my pencil so hard that it cracked, and she said, "Well now, looks like someone has a lot of pent up anger. I dare you to lay it on me."

Now I was taking slow, deep breaths. I couldn't attack her; that would just give her another reason to hate me. Besides, attacking her in school would get me into a lot of unnecessary trouble. It wasn't worth it. She wasn't worth it. Sighing I smiled and said, "Sorry, but unlike you I have common sense."

She raised an eyebrow and said in an amused tone of voice, "Is 'common sense' telling your friends that my words didn't affect you and then going and changing your entire outfit, as if they wouldn't notice? I mean, clearly that must be common sense, right, since you clearly have common sense, unlike me?"

"Minerva, why are you doing this?" I said suddenly, turning on her. "Erza, Levy, Lisanna, and Juvia hang out with Natsu too. Why do you seem to think that he's the only reason I hang out with that group? All of them are my friends. I knew Erza before I knew anyone else there. Why do you see me as such a threat to your precious but fake relationship with Natsu?"

Minerva's eyes were mere slits as she said quietly, "Miss Heartfilia, you can't possibly think I'm that much of an idiot. I've heard about how you and Natsu hang out all the time, how every time he's with you he looks like he couldn't possibly be happier, how he does things for you he's never done for any other girl. He likes you Lucy, and it's clear to see that you like him too. You are a threat. I thought that maybe if you were nice, your threatening me wouldn't be such a big problem. But now I see there's no hope for that. I hate you as a person; it's not just that you threaten me and Natsu. And now, I'm even more determined to make your life absolutely miserable."

I felt tears rising to my eyes and my lower lip beginning to tremble slightly and I struggled to force them down. I couldn't cry, not in front of Minerva. I couldn't give her anything more to use against me. Instead, I shot her with a cold, hateful glare, grabbed my things and left the room quickly, heading to the bathroom to wait out the rest of the period in safety.

When I got there, I allowed myself to break down, leaning against the wall of the stall sobbing. After a while, I saw a head poke under the door, and then the person picked the lock on the stall from outside and came in, crouching in front of me. I looked up to see that she had dark blue, long pigtails and big brown eyes.

"W-Wendy-sensei?" my own voice came out sounding foreign to me. She smiled and nodded.

"You don't have to add –sensei to the end of my name, Lucy. I hate formalities like that. Besides, I'm younger than most of the students here so it just doesn't feel right to have them call me sensei." She said with a light smile on her face.

I smiled as well and said, "How did you get to be a teacher so young, anyways?"

She laughed and said, "I skipped a couple grades."

"You don't say," I said teasingly.

She laughed again and I couldn't help but smile at her laugh, which sounded like little bells. She then grew quite serious and said, "Why are you crying in the bathroom?"

Her eyes met mine and I couldn't look away. It was like she was staring into my soul with hawk-eyes. I said, "Oh, uh, it's nothing really. My hamster ran away and I've had him since I was a kid." The lie left a bad taste in my mouth, and every time I told one to cover up what Minerva was doing to me I felt guiltier and guiltier.

She frowned and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I used to have a hamster, but he ran away too. I hope you can find yours, or maybe they'll find each other and become friends! How cute would that be, little hamster friends!" We both laughed and she then left the bathroom, skipping off down the hallway. I sighed and remained in the stall, my head leaning against the wall, not wanting to go back to study hall and face Minerva again.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the final bell finally rang. I left my hiding place and headed out into the crowds of people that were swarming the halls. I began to feel overwhelmed, forgetting where I was going and suddenly wishing my friends had had the same class as me. When I thought I was going to break down in the middle of the hallway, a hand grabbed my arm and yanked me through a group of people. I sighed in relief when I saw that it was Erza.

She smiled and said, "Some people can be really heartless at the end of the day here, but you can hardly blame them for being excited to leave school." I laughed a little and nodded with a quick 'yeah.' I then saw a frown fall on Erza's face. "Lucy, I have some bad news. From Wednesday to Saturday I'll be at an education convention that Principal Makarov wants me to go to since I'm student council President. I'm sure you'll be fine, though; stay around Natsu and the others for those few days okay? And if you need anything text me or call me."

I nodded and hoped she couldn't see the feeling of dread that had swept over me. Erza could be positively _scary_, as I could see from the reactions of kids in the halls, and even Minerva was scared of her. If Minerva was _holding back _at lunch today because Erza was there, I'd hate to see what she was like when she had nothing to fear.

I gathered my things and the two of us left, Erza getting a taxi back to her house and me simply walking to my apartment. When I left the building, however, Natsu walked up to me and slung his arm around my shoulders. "Mind if I walk with you?" he asked, smiling.

"I wouldn't mind it at all," I replied and the two of us headed to my apartment. By the time we got there, I felt like I was going to die of heat stroke. I had to stop and put my hands on my knees, crouching down and trying to get less dizzy.

Natsu looked down at me, concerned, and said, "You shouldn't have changed into an outfit like that Luce, it's way too hot." He then seemed to realize my lie and he said, "There is no way you changed because you were cold. Was it because of Minerva calling you a slut? Don't listen to her Luce! You're not a slut, she is, alright?"

I sighed and said tiredly, "Yeah, Natsu. It's been a really long day, and I'm really tired, so I'm going to take a nap. Maybe we can talk later, just not right now." As I walked into my apartment and turned around to lock the door, I saw him staring after me from the window looking as worried as ever. And then I wondered if I would really be able to put up a tough act this time. If this was only day one of Minerva and her minions, I didn't want to think about what four years would be like.

**A/N I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday guys, I've been really caught up with stuff lately. I won't be able to update at all next week so I'm going to try to update as much as possible this week!**

** Hope y'all enjoy this chapter. BRING ON THE MINERVA-RANTING-REVIEWS!**

** Until next time!**


	6. Calm Before the Storm

I fell onto my bed and buried my face in the pillow, feeling a rush of anger and sadness rush over me. My eyes filled with tears and I let them flow, gripping the pillowcase in my clenched fists and sobbing. I was angry with myself for crying so much, but I couldn't help it. It just wasn't fair that I always got attacked by bullies. What did I do to deserve their hate? I tried to be nice, and I tried to be a good person. I tried so hard to be like my mother, who was sweet and kind to everyone

Maybe my attempts were futile; maybe I was truly a bad person. Maybe that was inevitable, and I would never reach the goal of utmost kindness. Sighing and forcing myself to catch my breath and stop crying, I set my alarm for 4:00 and pulled my covers up over me. It really was cold in my apartment, so I was suddenly glad I was wearing warm clothing. Before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep.

I awoke to my alarm blaring in my ear and I sat up and sighed, turning it off and getting ready to go to work. I hoped it would just be a normal day there. I slid out of bed, made something quick to eat, and got ready to go. Once that was done I left to go to Vermillion's, knowing that I probably looked like a wreck. I honestly didn't care though.

When I got there, there were a lot more people than usual. Mirajane informed me excitedly that a group of tourists was coming through and decided to stop by, and she put me on waitress duty immediately. I sighed, mustered up a smile, and went to take people's orders.

By the time 9 rolled around, I was lying on the bar asleep. We finally had a break in people coming in so I took the time to rest. It had been a long working night, but I was glad that I didn't have any problems with people from school showing up and I had made a lot of money in tips. Mira gently shook me to wake me up.

I blinked a couple of times and she said with a soft smile, "Long day?"

Nodding, I sighed and said, "You have no idea."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she said, "Lisanna told me about what happened at lunch today. She says she can't believe anyone would do that to you, and quite frankly, neither can I. You didn't let her get to you, did you? You can't Lucy. You're an amazing person; you shouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise."

I smiled at her and said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's just kind of annoying having to put up with her, y'know?"

Mirajane nodded and said, "I used to have similar issues. I just focused all of my energy on my friends and they gave me the strength to make it through. As long as you have them, I'm sure you'll be perfectly fine." I smiled at her and she then said, "Well, I guess your shift is over. You can head on home and I'll close up."

Sighing I said, "Alright, thanks Mira." I then walked out. Normally, we took turns closing up but she seemed to be sympathetic toward me thanks to everything that'd happened. I walked home, feeling my heart speed up as well as my pace. It unnerved me to know that the only light I had was from the moon and stars as well as the yellow street-lamps, most of which were burnt out. For this reason, it was really dark on the walk home.

I sighed in relief when I made it home and closed my door and locked it for the night. I then headed to my room when I realized something was off. I squinted my eyes in the darkness and saw a lump on my bed. I groaned softly in annoyance and muttered, "Seriously Natsu?"

I shook my head but decided not to kick him out; he looked adorable. I crawled into bed quietly and I heard him mumble, "Yay, Lucy, you're back." He then scooted closer to me and slung his arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest. I blushed profusely, refusing to look back in case he was awake and would see my bright red face.

But then I felt him relax, though his arm was still over me, and the soft sound of snoring filled the room. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, relishing in his warmth.

I awoke at 6:00 the next morning and carefully wiggled out of Natsu's grasp. I went and took a shower, then got dressed and made breakfast. I made extra pancakes in case Natsu wanted any. He walked out of my room and stretched, yawning. "I smell food," he grumbled, and I laughed. He said, "No seriously, that's the only reason I woke up."

I just laughed even harder and said, "Well you're in luck. I made extra pancakes just for you." I indicated to the plate of freshly finished pancakes on the table. His eyes grew big and he drooled, running over to them in excitement. I smiled and said, "You know you should really ask me before barging into my apartment."

"But you didn't kick me out," he pointed out, and then said with a knowing smirk, "In fact I'd say you _enjoyed _it based on the smile and blush you had on your face when I woke up in the middle of the night." Of course, this just made me blush more.

He laughed and took a few pancakes, dumping syrup on them and eating a few. I realized that he'd changed from what he was wearing when I first came in the night before. "You changed?" I asked in confusion.

Natsu looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Duh, Luce, do you really think I'd be so stupid that I'd forget to bring extra clothes with me? Of course I changed."

I rolled my eyes as well, knowing that it would be just like him to forget to bring clothes. That drew my attention to what I was wearing. I'd purposely worn a skirt that almost reached my knees and a blouse with quarter-length sleeves, so any 'slut' comments Minerva tried to make would be laughably invalid. My skirt was gray and my blouse was a peach color, so I wore a peach hair ribbon and gray boots with peach laces.

"You never fail to impress me with your outfits Luce," Natsu commented when I sat down to eat a couple of pancakes. I looked at him, confused, and he said, "They always look great on you, and they match so well."

I blushed and said, "Oh. Thanks." He grinned and nodded. When we were done with the pancakes I cleaned up the dishes and then the two of us went to wait outside my apartment for Erza. As we stood there he inched closer to me and then put his arm around my shoulders. I was so used to him doing it that I didn't give it a second thought.

When Erza showed up she gave the two of us a weird look and said, "Natsu? Why are you here?"

He smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh, uh, I broke into Lucy's apartment last night and slept here." Erza smirked and my eyes widened as I realized what card she was going to pull.

"No, Erza, it wasn't like that," I started.

"So you two _slept together _eh?" she said, wiggling her eyebrows and I face-palmed, groaning.

"No we did not. That's not what happened at all." She merely laughed and so did Natsu, until they were both laughing so hard they were practically crying. I blushed and tried to shrink away from them, but Erza put a hand on my shoulder to keep me exactly where I was and I couldn't just inch off to school alone.

They finally stopped laughing and we all headed off to school, Natsu and Erza both still seeming very amused at their little joke. I sighed and walked slightly behind the two of them, wondering what today would be like. At least I wouldn't have to see Minerva until lunch as long as she didn't confront me in the halls at all. I smiled; that was a bonus for sure.

Sure enough, I didn't run into Minerva at all in the morning classes, and I was glad that she was a year older than us and therefore not in any of the same classes. Lunch time rolled around and I could feel Erza stiffening next to me as we walked. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and saw that she was looking at me too.

When we walked into the cafeteria, Natsu looked around and then when he spotted Minerva, put his arm around my shoulders and stuck out his tongue at her childishly. I groaned inwardly so as not to upset him. I appreciated that my friends stood up for me but Natsu's childish habits seemed to sometimes do more bad than good.

We went to our table and immediately moved the three extra seats away just to be safe, and then moved all of the other seats to places that wouldn't allow the other chairs to be replaced. We then got our lunches and took our seats, and I smiled my gratitude at my friends for thinking ahead to stop Minerva from bothering us again.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly. They didn't try to disturb us and I was able to just have fun and enjoy the conversations I was having with my friends. It was funny to listen to Juvia; she was madly in love with Gray but he didn't seem to return her affections at all. I could tell by his eyes when she spoke to him though that he did feel something for her. His eyes lit up when she spoke to him, and I could see them being a couple easily.

It wasn't until we were leaving when things went downhill. The bell rang for our next class and so of course, people pushed and shoved in the large crowd to try and get out. Natsu and Gray immediately jumped into the crowd; Juvia followed them for Gray; and Lisanna and Levy followed Juvia. I hung back with Erza to avoid the crowd.

We were walking out after everyone else when I felt my foot hit something. I stretched my arms out to catch myself, but they slipped and I fell forward on my face. I looked up to see what I'd tripped on only to see Minerva's grinning face. She spit on me and said, "Oops. Sorry about that."

I tried to stand up but I felt the painful heel of a high-heeled shoe dig into my back and push me back down to the ground. I looked up and saw that Erza looked positively pissed. She stepped toward Minerva and said, "I'll give you to the count of three, Minerva."

I looked up and saw that Minerva was as pale as ever.

"One," Erza said softly.

"Oh come on, don't do that-,"

"Two," Erza said in a menacing voice.

Minerva gulped and then I felt a sharp pain as she twisted her heel into my spine before walking off. Erza leaned down and held out a hand. I took it and she helped pull me to my feet, giving me that sympathetic look that I just _hated. _I hated it when people felt pity for me. I didn't need pity.

"Are you okay?" she said softly as we walked to our next class. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine," I lied. My back felt like it was on fire and I had spit in my hair and was probably covered in dirt and germs. But I decided it could be worse. It could be way worse, but it wasn't, so in all honesty I really _was _fine, in a not-fine sort of way.

Even though I was upset, mad, and somewhat annoyed that Minerva had done that to me, I was still pretty happy. She hadn't bothered me at all before then, and even when she did bother me, at least she didn't pull the slut card. If she'd done that I would've been super pissed.

Once again my day was put back on a generally smooth track. The next few periods whipped by just like the day before and then it was time for study hall. Or, should I say, it was time for study hell. When I arrived at the classroom, I found a spot with only one chair. It was in a far corner, away from all the others, and I assumed it was a sort of time-out for kids who were being troublemakers.

However, I was more than happy to take it. It meant that Minerva wouldn't disturb me. Of course, there was a chance she'd pull up a chair, but it'd be hard to do so without attracting the attention of the teacher and being asked to move back so she didn't disrupt anyone.

I happily sat there and worked on my novel for the entire period. Minerva cast me dirty glances every now and then which only amused me more. Then, when the period came to an end, I was so close to the door that I was able to just slip out before everyone else and get to my locker without any unwanted confrontations.

As I was walking, I remembered what Erza had said to me the day before, about not being in school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I hoped that today wouldn't be my best day, and that the next few days and the next few _years _would go just as well, but I knew I couldn't get my hopes up. Based on what happened on that first unlucky day, I was sure there was much worse to come.

I sighed and got my things together. Erza went on her way, since she got driven back to her house, and I waited for Natsu to walk home with. As we walked, he started talking. "At least Minerva didn't pull anything today," he said, "maybe she was just going through a phase with you. That'd be weird though, normally when she meets someone she hates she dogs them until they leave town."

I was going to point out what she'd done to me after lunch, but then I remembered that he hadn't been there because he'd pushed his way to the front of the crowd. So instead, I just nodded and said, "Yeah. I hope it was just a phase too." The words left a bad taste in my mouth, knowing that it definitely wasn't a phase.

We stopped outside of my apartment and Natsu said, "So, um, Luce, do you mind if I spend the night here again?" he smiled at me softly.

"Why?" I asked.

"'Cause it's fun…. And 'cause you make really good pancakes… and 'cause your bed is really comfy… and 'cause your pillows are nice and soft… and 'cause you're nice to cuddle."

I sighed and said, "Sure, Natsu, but this had better not become a habit."

He grinned and sweat-dropped and I sighed before saying, "I'm going inside. I'll leave the door unlocked for when you come back." He nodded and ran off, and I went into my apartment with a sigh. I went to my desk and worked on my novel some more, having really gotten into it during study hall and not wanting to stop at this point.

After an hour or so of doing that, I went and had some leftover frozen macaroni and cheese for dinner. Then I freshened up and went to work. It was a good day there as well, with a decent amount of people coming in but not too many and Mira as sweet and kind as ever. She spent almost the entire time talking about her plans to get certain people together and such, and I merely listened to her, occasionally laughing at her pairings that seemed weird but she was convinced would work.

I walked home around nine when I was let out of work and opened my door only to see Natsu sitting on my couch watching television with an annoyed look on his face, probably because he was watching a sports game or something like that. He smiled at me when I walked in though and said, "Hey Luce, I decided to wait to go sleep until you got back."

I nodded and said, "Oh, okay. Well you can go sleep now then; I'm just going to take a shower first. You didn't have to wait up for me." He nodded and flashed me one of his signature grins and I got my pajamas and headed into the bathroom to shower with my eyes closed, humming softly. I took a quick shower and changed, then looked at the mirror. My eyes widened in shock when I saw what was on my mirror.

A scream sounded around the apartment, and I could hardly tell that it was my own because I was so terrified. The next thing I knew, I was crumpled on my knees on the floor in Natsu's arms, an emotional wreck with tears streaming down my face as I shook in terror. He gently helped me to stand and we both looked at the mirror again. In bright red lipstick someone had written in fancy cursive letters, _'I will destroy you, Lucy Heartfilia. You know exactly who I am.'_

I basically went into a state of shock. Minerva, Rogue or Sting would've had to break in to do that. Of course, I'd left my door unlocked for Natsu, but there's no way they just made a lucky guess about it being unlocked. They would've had to know exactly when it would be open for them to go in and do that. I suddenly felt like I wasn't safe anywhere, like I was always being watched.

Natsu muttered, "Damn, how the hell did they know to come in when your door was unlocked?" he narrowed his eyes and helped me to my bed before going and wiping it off. He then came back to the bedroom and slid into the bed next to me, pulling me tight against his chest. I relaxed, hiding my face in his shoulder.

"W-why," I whimpered softly, "why is this h-happening to me?" I felt Natsu's muscles tense up and he gripped me to the point where if he did anymore it would be painful and not comforting in a tighter hug. "What did I d-do to deserve t-this? It, it isn't f-fair."

He gently stroked my hair with one hand and murmured, "No, it isn't fair. You did nothing to deserve this Lucy, and I won't let her get away with doing this. I won't let her." I sighed and murmured a soft thank you before closing my eyes. I thought I heard a quick 'I love you' but by the time I heard it I was basically asleep, so I assumed it was just part of my dreams.

The next morning I awoke to my alarm and turned it off, rolling out of bed and going to get changed. I didn't even notice that Natsu wasn't in bed anymore. I yawned and went to get changed; picking something once again that was cute but not too slutty. I sighed, thinking of how unfair it was that I had to watch what I wore just because of some girl. '_I should be able to wear what I want,' _I thought, annoyed, _'Not what that jerk believes to be appropriate.'_

Today I decided to wear white capris, white sandals, and a long-sleeved blue and white shirt. It was simple, but I supposed it would do.

Sighing, I went to my bathroom and did my hair and makeup and all that good stuff and then went out to the kitchen. A delicious scent was wafting around the room and I realized, surprised, that Natsu was making breakfast. He smiled at me when I walked in and said, "This is the least I can do for you letting me sleep in your comfy bed."

I laughed and said, "You really didn't have to."

"I wanted to," he said quickly, then turned back to the pancakes he was making. They were some fancy pancakes with chocolate chips and butterscotch chips mixed in them. They smelled amazing.

I went over to the kitchen table and sat down, waiting for Natsu to finish as I pulled out my book and started reading. I was in the middle of a chapter when I remembered once again that Erza wouldn't be in school. My heart sunk to my stomach and I closed the book slowly, unable to focus on it anymore.

Natsu walked over a moment later with the pancakes, seeming pleased with himself for making them well. I thought it was pretty impressive as well personally; most of the guys I knew were horrible cooks, or if they could cook it was only noodles or grilled cheese. I took a bite out of it and looked at Natsu in surprise.

"Natsu, these are amazing!" I commented. He blushed.

"Yeah, well, I used to take cooking classes when I was little. This really isn't much since they're just pancakes, but I guess the classes paid off some, huh?"

I nodded vigorously and we quickly finished up and washed the dishes, giving us at least fifteen minutes to spare. I walked over to the couch and sat down, and the pinkette joined me shortly after. He looked at me for a moment and then said, "Hey, why are you so pale? I know you normally are but you look like a ghost."

"I'm just a bit nervous," I admitted, "It puts me on edge knowing that Erza won't be in school for the rest of this week, y'know? She's been able to help me out this far, and now that she's gone, it's like I'm in the middle of a war and I lost my armor."

He narrowed his eyes and put his hand on my shoulder. "I'll be with you Luce, all the time. I didn't do much before because you had Erza with you, but while she's not here, I'll make sure that no one does anything bad to you, you got that? Like I said last night, you don't deserve any of it, and I'm going to make sure you don't get any of it."

I smiled a little in relief and said, "Thanks, Natsu. I'm glad I can count on you."

**A/N Boring chapter is boring. Well I guess it wasn't THAT boring. That mirror thing though! MINERVA IS SKETCHY SKETCHY I'LL TELL YA WHAT. Next chapter's gonna be filled with drama and cray cray stuffs so STAY TUNED BECAUSE I WILL WRITE IT TOMORROW I AM DETERMINED I WILL DO IT!**

** Thank you all kindly for reading and reviewing and such, it means the world to me. I love you all like. Like you're my kids. From now on call me Mama. **

** Anyways,**

** Until next time!**


	7. Love

I walked to school in silence with Natsu, being sure to stick close to him. He seemed to sense my unease and gently pulled me closer, holding onto my wrist as though reminding me that he was there. We were walking into the school when a calm, know-it-all sort of voice drifted from behind us. "Where's Miss Scarlet today? Is she not here?"

"Don't turn around," Natsu said softly to me, "just keep walking."

But Minerva wasn't giving up. She sauntered up alongside us and walked next to us with a smirk on her face as we went to our lockers, which were next to each other. Minerva stopped by them and said, "You know Lucy, it's awfully hot to be wearing capris and long-sleeves. You must be crazy." I gritted my teeth in annoyance and did my best to ignore her.

"Are you really giving me the silent treatment? How old are you again? Nine?"

Natsu gave Minerva a glare that could kill and growled, "Would you shut up, bitch? I don't know if you realize, but you're not popular, nobody likes you, and the only thing you might have going for you is your boobs. So quit hating on others, it makes you look extremely hypocritical. If you're going to be rude at least find some insults that apply more to the person you're insulting than to yourself."

Minerva glared at Natsu and said, "I really don't want to fight with my favorite boy. Everything I say is directed at Lucy here, not you, so please don't feel obligated to respond."

"But I am obligated to respond," Natsu said almost immediately after that. "Lucy is my friend, and I have as much right to stick up for her as she does to stick up for me, or for Erza, or even for herself. Believe it or not, that's what happens when you have friends. I doubt you'd know that though. You don't have any friends, just two lackeys who couldn't care less about you."

I could tell she was getting angrier and angrier, and I braced myself for her to do something awful. But then, she merely smirked and sauntered off.

Looking at Natsu I smiled softly and said, "Thanks Natsu."

He grinned and said, "No problem Luce, anything for you! That's what friends are for, right?" I nodded and we headed to class together. The rest of the day Minerva seemed determined to destroy me. She stalked me all morning, tripping me or knocking my books and papers out of my hands. You'd think I'd get used to the constant foot stuck out in front of my legs, but I never did.

Lunch came and she kept her distance. I sat with my friends minus Erza, and Natsu sat with his arm slung lazily around my shoulders as though we were a couple. The thought made me blush.

The rest of the day went on the same way and by the end of the day I was splattered with mud from when we went outside for gym classes and she sent her lackeys after me and I had multiple bruises. I was exhausted. We walked outside of the school and Natsu muttered, "Foot."

I jumped back before I could trip again. I nodded my thanks to him and glared at Minerva, who was laughing off to the side. Natsu didn't do anything, as I had asked him not to tell her off anymore since every time he did everything got worse. "I'm going to get groceries," I told Natsu softly, "so you don't have to come with me. You can go to my apartment if you want."

He frowned at me. "Can I please come with you Luce? I don't want you to be alone. I mean, no offense, but look at you. Today has been rough enough on you as it is."

I sighed, my exhaustion coming in waves, one of which crashed down on me just then. I sounded drained as I said, "I'm fine alone Natsu. Just go home or go back to my apartment. I'll be fine!" I tried to force a smile for him but my smile wavered and broke. Before he could see the frown I turned and walked off, feeling his gaze burn into my back.

I walked for a while, feeling unease wash over me as I headed towards the grocery store. I quickened my pace, my heart rate speeding up as my fear increased. A gasp left my lips as a hand grabbed my elbow and yanked me to the side into an alleyway. My hip popped painfully at the sudden movement and I tried to scream but a palm was slapped over my mouth. I suddenly wished I had brought Natsu with me.

Terrified, I twisted to get a good look at my captor. I winced when I saw the sly smirk and cold blue eyes of the one and only Sting Eucliffe. Shivers ran up and down my spine and I realized Rogue was with him.

I started to writhe and wiggle to try and escape Sting, but he was much stronger than me. I suddenly felt my feet lift off the ground and a jolt ran through me. Sting was grasping me by my shirt collar, glaring at me as though I'd killed someone in his family. I whimpered and he said in a low, dangerous voice, "You should've never messed with Minerva."

He slammed me against the brick wall of the alley and I yelped in pain, though it was muffled because he kept his hand over my mouth. He slammed me against it once more, smirking sadistically when I yelped again. He then dropped me and kicked me in the gut. A scream left my mouth, and finally, it was a clear one. Sting continued to kick me for a while and Rogue stood guarding the entrance to the alley in case anyone we knew came by.

Sting suddenly kicked me so I was lying on my back, and then proceeded to straddle my waist. He smirked deviously and said in an amused voice, "You're really quite weak, Lucy Heartfilia. Minerva gave us orders to give you a beating. She never said we couldn't have fun with it."

I felt one of his hands slowly slide under my shirt, and I shuddered under the feel of his cold hand on my skin. He looped his other hand's fingers on the edge of my pants.

"W-what are you doing?" I stuttered nervously. He just chuckled darkly. His hand slid further up my shirt and the other played with the button on my pants and I knew what he was going to do. I felt hot tears beginning to well up in my eyes. This couldn't be happening; not now.

He took my shirt off and I felt air hit my torso. I was now in nothing but a bra and capris. That's when I heard it; I heard footsteps and the distant call of 'Lucy!' It was Natsu, it had to be. I perked up immediately and screamed, "NATSU!"

I heard Sting mutter, "Shit," and then I felt something sharp and hard slam into my temple. I screamed at the pain that shot through my head and saw black spots dancing in my line of vision. But suddenly, there was a crash near me. I swiveled my eyes to see that Rogue was out cold and Natsu was standing in the alley entrance. He ran in front of me and I looked up at his back, smiling weakly.

"Natsu… you… came…" I said, feeling blood running down the side of my head and breathing heavily through the pain. He shot me a fake smile and then turned to beat up Sting. They were an even match for a while and I was worried Sting would win, but then Natsu shot a look at me and knocked Sting out with one hit.

He knelt beside me then and pulled me into his lap. I could see that he was struggling not to cry. "Lucy… what did he do to you?"

"He almost… y'know… did it to me… but he didn't, because you came. He kicked me a lot and I don't know why I'm bleeding but… something hit my temple…"

I saw his eyes move sideways and followed them, seeing a blood-covered rock next to me. He tightened his hold on me. "I'm going to get help, okay Luce? Just hold on. You're going to be fine… I promise you'll be fine."

He pulled out his phone and began to dial 911. I heard him speaking urgently into the phone and then he hung up and turned to me again. I felt the exhaustion catching up with me; or maybe I could feel death catching up with me. In any case, I wanted to sleep, and I murmured, "I'm so tired Natsu… can I go to sleep?"

"N-no," he said shakily, and I saw tears sliding down his cheeks, "No Luce, stay with me. I'm right here with you. You have to stay awake. Don't fall asleep on me."

"But… but I'm so tired…" He grasped my hand tightly in his.

"Stay awake Luce." He said in a stony voice, though I could pick out the worry under his firm tone of voice. "Stay awake." My eyelids fluttered as I struggled not to fall asleep. Why was I so tired anyways? The side of my face was wet for some reason. But why, why was it wet? Where was I? Who was holding me? What was going on? It couldn't be so wrong for me to sleep, could it? I was just tired. I just wanted to sleep. I relaxed in Natsu's arms.

"I'm going… to sleep now… okay?"

"NO!" Natsu screamed in horror, his voice laced noticeably now with worry. I smiled sadly at him and my eyelids fluttered shut. I heard him scream 'LUCY!' one more time before there was silence.

Something was beeping. It was a steady beep, gentle and constant, but it seemed to change speed just slightly after a few beeps. There was something on my face, and I didn't know what it was, but it seemed to be forcing oxygen on me. I cracked my eyes open and saw a bright white ceiling above me. I looked to my right and saw Natsu sitting next to me, asleep, with his head in his hands.

"Natsu," I mumbled around the strange thing over my nose and mouth, confused. He jerked his head up at the sound of my voice.

"You're awake, Luce, you're finally awake!" I smiled softly and he pulled me into a tight hug. Pain shot up my spine and through my head as I was jerked sideways and I let out a soft whimper of pain. He immediately released me and stared me down, looking very concerned.

"I was so worried. There was so much blood… I told Erza about what happened. She's going to try and come home as soon as she can. You… you were out for almost two full days. Principal Makarov and Mirajane both know about what happened, so don't worry about schoolwork and work-work. Mira said you can have all of next week off too."

I smiled softly and said, "She's too nice." Then suddenly I frowned and began to cry. I hated myself for crying so much; it sickened me that I could seem so weak, especially so often in front of Natsu. Natsu pulled me into a gentle hug and I wrapped my arms around him shakily, burying my face in his shoulder.

He rubbed my back and said softly, "I'm sorry I can't do anything about Minerva." His voice cracked and he said, "But this is the last straw. I'll kill her if I have to." I remembered all of the schools I'd transferred to in the past due to bullies. None of them had ever been as bad as this. I wasn't going to transfer this time. I wasn't going to be a baby and run from my problems, I was going to face them.

"I don't want you to do everything for me, Natsu," I said. "I know you'd be more than happy to kill her for me, but I can't let you do that. I have to deal with my own problems, alone. I'll just ignore her. Maybe she'll get bored with me. But I think you really need to just back up a little. If you want to help me, you need to stop staying in my apartment, and I'm going to need you to just act like a distant friend, okay? I think Minerva thinks we're dating, which we're not, yet, and that really sets her off."

"But… I love you Lucy," he said softly, and it hurt me to see the distraught look of pain that crossed his face. He looked confused, but I knew that he now realized the circumstances and knew that he had to do this.

"I know," I murmured, "I love you too. But we can't be in love publicly if this is going to keep happening. You understand don't you?"

He nodded sadly and I gave him a small smile. "Good."

We talked for a little while longer about what I'd missed in school and things like that, and he told me that Minerva was walking around all proud, boasting about how she'd landed me in the hospital. I rolled my eyes at that. The doctor came in eventually and told Natsu that he needed to leave, and then informed me that they would be keeping me one more night to monitor me and make sure I was okay, as the rock had hit me dangerously close to the point on my temple that would have paralyzed me.

I sighed and closed my eyes, quickly falling asleep once more.

When I woke again, I saw Erza out of the corner of my eye. She looked up and smiled at me as I came to. "Geez Lucy, if I'd known this would happen I never would have left," she tried to say it jokingly, but I could tell that her smile didn't reach her eyes and that she was dead serious about every word she said. She frowned and said, "Minerva's going to pay for this. Natsu told me exactly what had happened. I can't believe Sting almost…"

"Yeah," I cut her off with a tart tone of voice, "I still can't believe it either. But it's over now. Now I just need to… try and get it to stop." My words sounded so small and quiet, making it sound so simple when in reality it seemed impossible.

Erza gave me a sad smile and said, "I know you want to do this on your own. Natsu told me about your idea to have him stay a little bit away from you. But Lucy, you can't win this war on your own. Minerva is notorious for her devious ways. Most people she bullies transfer or move away, and some of the ones who couldn't even resulted to committing suicide. I want me or Juvia to be with you at all times. Levy or Lisanna can be with you at school, too, but since they're not even as tough as you, I want Juvia or myself to be with you when you're walking out alone. And it'd make me feel a lot better if you moved in with me."

"Don't you think you're going a little overboard?" I shot at Erza, my voice shaking in a slightly suppressed anger. "I'm not a baby. I don't need you to treat me like one. I have experience in situations like these, I know what to do and having a body guard really isn't necessary. At least for the time being I have no intentions of dying to get out of this, that would just be pleasing Minerva. Don't you see, Erza, I'm not like the wimps she's picked on before!"

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO YOURSELF?" Erza screamed at me, standing up suddenly and tipping her over. Her eyes blazed in anger and her voice reverberated around me. My heart rate sped up and you could hear it in the beeps on the heart monitor. "YOU ALMOST DIED! YOU ALMOST GOT RAPED! YOU WERE LUCKY THAT NATSU WAS THERE TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS!"

My heart sped up even more. I didn't know why; yes, I was a little scared, but it was just Erza. My head was pounding and the throbbing could be felt painfully in my head wound.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW I FELT WHEN I GOT A TEXT FROM NATSU SAYING THAT YOU WERE UNCONSCIOUS IN THE HOSPITAL? HOW DO YOU THINK I'D COPE WITH YOU GONE LUCY? THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT YOU! IT'S ABOUT YOU AND ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!" She was crying. Mavis, I'd made Erza cry. I clasped a hand to my rapidly beating chest and suddenly felt the room tip and swirl sideways.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered, looking at the distorted image of Erza in front of me. "Erza I… I can't..." my voice tried to force out, sounding strained and broken. Her eyes were wide and staring at something behind me. I tried to look, unaware that she was staring in horror at the heart monitor, then looking at me in horror as well.

I vaguely heard her tell me to hang on and she ran urgently out of the room. It was a blur after that; nurses rushed in, the oxygen mask that had finally been taken off was put back on, the bandages were replaced around my head wound which had reopened a little, and I was given some sort of medicine that made my heart rate slow down.

Slowly, the nurses filtered out, and all that was left was Erza and the doctor. Erza was looking at her feet, silent, and the doctor was staring at a clipboard. "We had intentions to release you when you woke up, Miss Heartfilia," he said softly, "but I'm not so sure now if that's the best decision. You just went into shock and due to the shock your heart rate went haywire. Your breathing was acting up. Few people react to shock in this way, and since you do I don't know if we should send you home just yet."

"I'll be fine," I said quickly, hating the idea of staying in this hospital. The smell was nauseating and the bright lights were painful for me to look at. Honestly, I believed that home would be much better for my recovery than staying here, as strange as it was. "I-I'm moving in with Erza so if anything goes wrong she can help me. It's not like I'll be living alone." I did my best to ignore her surprised look and kept my gaze fixed on the doctor.

He glanced at Erza, then back at me, and then he nodded reluctantly. He gave me a portable oxygen mask and explained how to use it, in case something like that happened again, and also supplied me with bandages and explained that I should be careful with my head because they almost gave me stitches but decided I didn't necessarily NEED them.

After that, we were able to check out and leave the hospital. Erza stared at me as we walked, but I just stared at my shoes. "I'm sorry, Lucy," Erza said quietly, her voice breaking slightly. "I was just… so worried about you. I know you've been through a lot, and I know you can go through a lot, seeing as how you're still convinced you can do this on your own even after what happened. But I care about you and so do Natsu and all of our friends at Fairy Tail High. We just want you to stay safe."

"I know," I murmured, "I know you care, and I should apologize too. I'm not used to having people care about me. I shouldn't have been so quick to tell your idea off."

She nodded and said, "So are you accepting my idea?"

"Yeah, I am."

The two of us proceeded in silence to my apartment to get a few things, and then headed off to Erza's house. My heart ached, and I wished that I hadn't told Natsu to back off. At the same time, though, I knew that it was one of the best ways to try and stop Minerva.

We arrived at Erza's house and she commanded me to go lie down on the couch because of my head wound. I sighed and did as she said without putting up a fight. I was drained after what had just happened at the hospital and the medications they had given me were making me drowsy. I stared at the ceiling in silence while she went to make tea and found my mind wandering to Natsu.

I'd been with him so much in the past few days and now I couldn't seem to get him off of my mind. I thought of his smile as he laughed and the angry look on his face when he told of Minerva. I remembered the sight of Rogue and Sting falling and the feeling of his arms cradling me against his chest, and his relieved look when I finally awoke in the hospital.

I clenched my fists and I realized what Minerva's problem was. She couldn't love. The girls like Minerva at school didn't love Natsu, clearly, as most of them had boyfriends whom they didn't love either. They just wanted him for his looks and because he was one of the best players on the football team. That's where I was different. I _loved _Natsu. I'd seen him laugh and cry and I'd seen him when he's angry.

I'd seen Natsu's _humanity. _And more importantly, I _loved Natsu's humanity. _I loved him for him, and that's why Minerva would never win this battle. I still felt hopeless and broken and both physically and emotionally in pain, but suddenly I had a new light to walk toward. I smiled a real, genuine smile when Erza brought the tea over. Suddenly I knew that unlike the others who Minerva had targeted, I had something big against her.

Love.

**A/N I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK**

**Did you guys miss me?**

**Here it is everyone. I told you there would be much drama. I think I'm going to bring Loke/Leo in next chapter. But before I do that Imma warn y'all. Loke is going to bring much drama. So if you're a die-hard Loke fan I'll need you to start reading this story with an open mind and an understanding that THIS IS A NALU STORY. **

**Yeah, Loke's not going to be super nice. Sorryyyyyy**

**So anyways I can't seem to get my thought process in line at the moment so sorry about that. I love you all and will get back on track with chapters now that I'm home!**

**Until next time!**


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